An authoritative, unprecedented account of how in the early 2000s Canadian music finally became cool

Hearts on Fire is about the creative explosion in Canadian music of the early 2000s, which captured the world’s attention in entirely new ways. The Canadian wave didn’t just sweep over one genre or one city, it stretched from coast to coast, affecting large bands and solo performers, rock bands and DJs, and it connected to international scenes by capitalizing on new technology and old-school DIY methods.

Arcade Fire, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Feist, Tegan and Sara, Alexisonfire: those were just the tip of the iceberg. This is also the story of hippie chicks, turntablists, poetic punks, absurdist pranksters, queer orchestras, obtuse wordsmiths, electronic psychedelic jazz, power-pop supergroups, sexually bold electro queens, cowboys who used to play speed metal, garage rock evangelists, classically trained solo violinists, and the hip-hop scene that preceded Drake. This is Canada like it had never sounded before. This is the Canada that soundtracked the dawn of a new century.

Featuring more than 100 exclusive interviews and two decades of research, Hearts on Fire is the music book every Canadian music fan will want on their shelf.

Sales and Market Bullets

• Canadian music had never been cool before the year 2000. Hearts on Fire covers the era when Canadian music came into its own and became a force on the international stage, and when the world began to look to Canada to discover innovative new artists across genres. For the first time, the international profile of Canadian music was not just the domain of a few superstars, but rested on the shoulders of dozens upon dozens of acts, regardless of musical style or measures of success.
• Discover artists from across the nation: Quebec (Arcade Fire, Sam Roberts, Kid Koala), Ontario (Metric, k-Os, Peaches, Alexisonfire, Sarah Harmer), Alberta (Feist, Tegan and Sara), B.C. (New Pornographers, Swollen Members, Hot Hot Heat), Nova Scotia (Joel Plaskett, Buck 65)
• Barclay’s The Never Ending Present spent four months on both the Globe and Mail and Toronto Star bestseller lists, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, and was shortlisted for both the Speaker’s Book Award and Heritage Toronto Book Award.

Audience

• Fans of Michael Barclay and his previous books, especially Never Ending Present
• Fans of Canadiana
• Regular listeners to Indie88 and other regional alternative music radio stations
• Younger audience, 25-40 indie music fans