The Neighbourhood Mixtape is a collection of newly-released songs by Toronto musicians. The mixtape is meant to celebrate Toronto's music culture and provide a forum to listen to and discover new local music.

Every Sunday, I post a five-track mixtape that you can download or stream as a soundtrack for the week. The theme for our tenth and final installment for 2010, inspired by how fast the year has gone, is avalanche.

Track #1: Holy Fuck, "Red Lights (Sebastien Grainger Remix)"

Our collection lights up this week with Sebastien Grainger's remix of Holy Fuck's "Red Lights". The track begins with washed out synth loops and static that start to sound like frost forming against windows. Grainger adds robotic vocals to the already-solid instrumental dance track - a warning that it's probably time to start moving your body.

Track #2: Papermaps, "Reunion"

Papermaps' "Reunion" begins with soft piano keys that make you feel as if you've conquered the mountaintop. The track melds tumble-down rhythms, chorus chants and psychedelic vocals - all cascading to form a massive sound that ramshackle you back to the bottom of the hill.

Track #3: Doug Paisley and Feist, "Don't Make Me Wait"

It's been a while since we heard a new Feist tune, so we coo when we discover a scrap of her somewhere and it's hard to let others in on the secret. Doug Paisley and Feist's second intimate duet in "Don't Make Me Wait" makes the time pass slowly. Their crisp vocals interchange as words come slow, along with moderate acoustic strums that compel you to curl up on your couch while the snow outside continues to cover the ground.

Track #4: THE DARCYS, "House Built Around Your Voice"

As the title suggests, THE DARCYS "House Built Around Your Voice" weaves delicately plucked guitar and percussion dribbles around vocal wisps. But more importantly, the track contains those moments when the noise clouding the track at the beginning and at the end dies down a little - a time when you can reflect and let your imagination wander, the calm before the storm.

Track #5: The Rural Alberta Advantage, "Stamp"

The Rural Alberta Advantage offers "Stamp" as an early gift for those, like me, who can't wait for the release of their second album Departing early next year. "The hardest thing about this love is that you're never coming back," shouts Nils Edenloff. The new track which you can download for free on Saddle Creek comes tight and energetic. Keyboard chimes follow forward guitar rhythms and vocals, along with charged drums - all flourishing to kick up snow dust.