Working for a volunteer-run, small Canadian magazine is not exactly lucrative—the running joke at Shameless headquarters is that our offices are the living rooms and bedrooms of the people who create it. But there are plenty of perks besides the healthy glow you get from supporting something you believe in; there’s also the launch parties, which are usually great chances to meet people you’ve only talked to via e-mail. They’ve also been great for seeing cool bands I’d never heard of. Last year it was Laura Barrett; a couple of weeks ago it was Forest City Lovers.

By sheer coincidence, the band had played a couple of nights previously with a friend of mine, who plays guitar with Entire Cities; I’ve been horrible at getting downtown to see him play so I didn’t actually see the show, but the name Forest City Lovers was still floating around in my head when they set up shop in the NOW Lounge on a bright spring Saturday afternoon. It’s always a pleasant surprise to me that the magazine is able to convince cool people to come play awesome music for us for free, and Kat Burns and company delivered in spades. The breezy, unhurried slices of guitar pop are enchanting on their own, but their vibe meshed perfectly with the lazy afternoon spirit of the day.

Burns has recorded two CDs of material already, but has yet to put out an album with the full band; apparently that album’s coming in September. “Doorsteps,” off last year’s The Sun and the Wind, sounds pretty good even without the band, which bodes very well for the fall. Until then, for the full effect you’ll have to see them live—they’re playing a couple of dates around Ontario before heading out west for a spell. You should go—if not for the charming music, then for Burns’s gorgeous robin-egg blue guitar.