Who you should know: Nick T.

Unicorns have not been around for quite some time, but that does not mean they have been forgotten.

In some cases, we can still hear them.

I'm referencing the Canadian indie-pop trio The Unicorns, whom assembled in 2000 but only to break up five years later. But, do not discount the mystical creature. Someone, somewhere, probably has claimed that he or she has heard the gallop of the magical horned horse; I'd love to have whatever he or she was taking at the time.

Listeners do not have to dive deep into the indie scene before coming upon work touched by an ex-Unicorns. Former front man Nicholas Thorburn (twitter) stands as the most recognizable of the three just because his voice is so unique and has multiple projects that still produce to this day.

The other two Unicorns, Alden Penner and Jamie Thompson, have either taken to other ventures or kind of disappeared (ironic).

Penner took some time out to score the movie The Hamster Cage as well as start Clues, a band with Brendan Reed (ex-Arcade Fire) and Bethany Or (Shanghai Trida).

Clues:


Thompson (aka J'aime Tambeur) contributed to Islands, one of Thornburn's current bands, for a bit but has since left the group.

I love Islands. They released their debut album Return to the Sea one year after the Unicorns broke up (2006). Thompson's voice has a strong presence and some songs really ring of a Unicorns sound, but some songs embrace a more twee-pop influence ("Rough Gem," watch the video; it's so cute). Arm's Way, their second release, dropped early last year and contained an arrangement of less pop-y songs.

Jim Guthrie, who also used to be in Islands, recorded an album, Moody Motorcycle, in just a week with Thorburn and released it late in 2008 under the band name Human Highway, after a Neil Young 1978 song. I was first exposed to their magic with the "The Sound" remix on Stereogum's MySpliceIII. Guthrie is now working on solo stuff, and Thorburn is back with Islands, so I feel like Human Highway was probably a short-lived project that the two just worked on during a week-long vacation of sorts.

It seems like Thorburn is just someone you should know of. It's hard to say under what name he might release his upcoming music (he's gone by Nick "Neil" Diamonds and Nick T. in the past).

Never the less, you have always got one safe bet: just listen for his voice.

R.I.P. The Unicorns