It's been a banner year for The Cheap Speakers, a power—garage rock band out of Toronto. In 2011, they've captured the attention of radio stations and music websites all over Canada, scoring enviable campus chart positions and positive press from EYE Weekly and Toronto's 102.1 The Edge online for their latest digital single "Speak."

The band, founded by vocalists Brennan Gault and Natalia Manzocco (who play bass and guitar respectively) and later rounded out by Tim Dafoe on lead guitar and David Kochberg on drums, released "Speak" late in April this year. Recorded and engineered by Dean Marino and Jay Sladowski at Chemical Sound, the single represents a lot of hard work and growth on the part of the band.

"We've grown a bunch between making our debut EP and making 'Speak,' and we spent a lot of money on it because we think it's a great song," Gault said. "Between the amount of time we spent on the recording and then having David on drums permanently, things really gelled together. I think it's definitely moving forward."

"I think the studio was a good fit for our sound," agreed Dafoe. With "Speak," the band is exploring new guitar and drum textures while maintaining their lo—fi integrity, a combination that is providing exciting new ground for the band to build upon.

"Brennan is a songwriting machine," Manzocco said of Gault, describing the process by which the band composes their material. Although Gault is the principle songwriter, Manzocco said she serves as the band's editor and stresses that the input that they received from Dafoe and Kochberg only made them more positive that the two were the perfect complement to the band's lineup.

His songs become even stronger once run through The Cheap Speakers arrangement machine," she continued. "We'll all come in with ideas as to where to place certain dynamics, like where to put solos or how many times to repeat certain things, and we really polish those songs into something we're really happy with and very proud of."

Known for their explosive live sets, The Cheap Speakers are excited to perform for London audiences. The band is playing at APK Live on December 9 with Paper Lions, The Balconies and The Hamptons. For more on The Cheap Speakers, visit thecheapspeakers.com or follow them on Twitter @cheapspeakers.

Paper Lions (paperlions.com, @paperlions) hail from Prince Edward Island and were last seen in London during Oh! Fest; The Balconies (@thebalconies) are a classically trained power rock trio originally from the Ottawa area; and The Hamptons are a rockabilly dance band from Toronto via Sarnia.

For further event information, visit apklive.com. Doors open at 8 p.m., and tickets are $5 in advance by emailing bands@apklive.com or $6 at the door. This is a 19-plus event.