A new Born Ruffians release is one of many albums I’m looking forward to in 2010. (It’s called Say It and it’s due out early in the year, by the way.)

In the meantime, Ruffians singer/guitarist Luke Lalonde has new material out in the form of a side project called Novels, a collaboration among five Toronto musicians — Lalonde, Graham Wright (Tokyo Police Club), Will Currie (Will Currie & the Country French), Dean Marino (Ex~Po) and Jason Sadlowski — whose goal was to write/arrange/record a five-song EP in a 24-hour period.

Here’s what the band had to say about the project:

In January of 2009, five of us locked ourselves away in Chemical Sound Studios in Toronto with the goal of writing, arranging, and recording an EP from scratch in one marathon session. When we stumbled out the door in the wee hours of the next morning, we found ourselves with what we’re now calling NOVELS.

NOVELS won’t be sold in CD stores, on the internet, or anywhere else. Instead, we’ll give them away, or put them places. Maybe you’ll find a copy sitting on a park bench. Maybe a masked man will hand you one as he passes you on the street. Maybe none of these things will happen. But we’ll make sure that everyone gets a chance to listen if they want to.

As such, they are offering a free download of the EP and an inside look at the process via video shot by documentary filmmaker Wade Vroom and photos from the studio.

• Novels | This Wouldn’t Be the Last Time