Tracking the Trends: Canda is here. Feast your eyes (and ears) on five more Canadian bands. Those who missed the first edition would do well to click here.
Destroy All DreamersMontreal
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Where Are My Records
It's reported that
Destroy All Dreamers takes its name from a
Silver Mount Zion song, but those thinking that this four-piece are about to knock off the
Constellation superstars need to think again. In actuality this band concerns itself much more with British and American lines of instrumental thought, heavily focusing on ambient guitar work and exhaustive layerings. Once the first chord is played it's a purely uphill battle; Destroy All Dreamers continually seeks to suffocate the listener with more layers and louder music. This unrelenting approach shys away from the linear quiet/loud formula and instead attacks from all angles to maximize its destructive force. On paper the Destroy All Dreamers sound looks cluttered and messy, but the band pulls it off with few glitches on
À Coeur Léger Sommeil Sanglant by keeping the variety of instrumentation very simple and favoring repetitive, hypnotic compositions. When in doubt the overpowering ambiance washes away troubled spots and reinforces the authoritative presence of the band. In a genre where much of the imagery is focused upon celestial bodies and heavenly emotions, Destroy All Dreamers present a picture where not everything is peaceful and serene. Transcendence does not bring a tranquil domain, but instead the journey continues the earthly struggle with blood, sweat, and tears. Even though the thick ambiance and waves of distortion produces an out-of-body effect for the listen, at the core of
A Coeur Leger Sommeil Sanglant there is a very real, physical battle raging, and this quartet always comes out on top.
Destroy All Dreamers' follow-up to
À Coeur Léger Sommeil Sanglant is one of the most anticipated releases of 2007 around
The Silent Ballet camp. Some speculate the band will be joining the ranks of the second-wave instrumental rock bands with explosive, energetic songs and unrelenting cathartic masterpieces. While that possibility is not an impossible evolution of the band's previous work, I would expect them to anchor themselves in traditional shoegaze moreso than the crop of new artists. In any case, Destroy All Dreamers is the Canadian band to watch.
The Neil ForbesSummerside
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Cowboys and Indian RecordsNeil Forbes is the bassist of The Neil Forbes. It does not get much simpler than that in terms of naming a band. It would seem like the band should follow it up with a self-explanatory CD title (The Hair of Neil Forbes?) and then have similarly titled songs, but alas, that was not to be. The band instead brings us The Talk of Paris Society, which I truly hope is a stab at all those Montreal folk who believe post-rock began and ended in that city, but I digress. The Neil Forbes describe themselves as "post-satanic-rock defenders of the universe," which means we're either in for a good satirical adventure or someone slipped some ether into the band's water supply. This eleven track, forty minute album constantly throws surprises at the listener. On the surface this trio has a pretty standard drum/guitar/bass setup, but when the tracks start rolling by you start to notice different instruments. Like a piano, or a glockenspiel. A trumpet? Yes. Stray cries of a violin? Yes. A harmonium? Yes, unless my ears deceive me and it's just an electronic keyboard. With an army of instruments and only three soldiers to man them, The Neil Forbes does an impressive job at working out the arrangements and making it appear like there's always a 4th member somewhere nearby. On top of all of that, Shawn McNalley doesn't forget about that reverb pedal, and that drives home many of the stronger songs of the album. Tracks like "The Dangers in Mistaking Children with Angels" and "What of These Noble Kings?" demonstrate the bands stellar cohension and wonderful arrangement skills and leaves the listener marveling at the prowess of these very skilled musicians.
When all the fun and games are over, The Neil Forbes have made a pretty wonderful debut album. In the future I'd like to see them putting their compositional talents to good use and finding another member or two to share in this glorious project and up the ante on the complexity of the songs. With a little bit of imagination The Neil Forbes could be Canada's answer to Neil on Impression. No pun intended.
Fond of TigersVancouver
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Drip AudioA Thing to Live With could easily be the result of two different bands mashed into its own split album, and maybe that's exactly what this seven-piece is -- two different bands. While Fond of Tigers comes out overly aggressive and hostile, as if it is screaming for attention and the only way it will get it is by pumping out volumes of noise. A different analysis would conclude that the band hasn't yet figured out how to accommodate all of its members into its song-writing, but the second half of the album puts this theory to rest. "Here, You Are Hated" finds the band on good footing. Brass and guitars intertwine beautifully as the drumming takes the spotlight and steadily leads to a blissful finale with piano in tow. Next, "Here You Are, Hated" picks up the energy level by allowing the guitars to force the track off to a quick start and the other instruments follow the lead. The track builds in speed and complexity, but the spotlight is rotated from member to member instead of them fighting incessantly for it. The lengthy "Parade Rehearsal" finds the band at its most avant-garde and jazz inspired, but after the thrashing in "Hear You Are, Hated," this sly composition is a welcome desert. Even though has its fair share of influences -- avant-garde, hardcore, jazz, psych rock -- there isn't much "post-rock" going on, except for those that mistake experimental leanings for "post-rock." The first half of the disc wounds itself very tightly around the musical landscape and slowly begins to unwind with every song. Fond of TigersFond of Tigers stumbles in the beginning of the album, by the disc's conclusion it is a very satisfying experience.
Fond of Tigers is undoubtedly on the right track with A Thing to Live With, but ultimately the first twenty minutes of the album leave a very sour taste in the listener's mouth. Hopefully these inconsistencies are hammered out in future releases and the the band is able to fully come into its own sound.
Pawa Up FirstMontreal
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Dare to Care RecordsAs "Shinjuku by Night" flickers to life, I immediately know The Scenario is going to an excellent listen. Clocking in just under forty minutes in length, I'm happy to see that Pawa Up First was selective with its debut album and left the filler material at home, providing the listener with just the right amount of music to make it a memorable experience. A very cool bass line and a steady drum presence anchor "Shinjuku by Night," and we're talking Dick Tracey 1920's speakeasy kind of cool. The guitar occasionally adds some very brief licks and the trumpet gives the song a personality all its own. Sprinkle some electronic sampling on top of this and Pawa Up First is off to a spectacular start. But not everything is as laid back as "Shinjuku by Night." "Scenario in Three" startles the listener to its feet and then works on getting the blood pumping as it infuses The Scenario with soul. "We Swear it Was Self-Defense" gives another laid back tune, "Honor" picks up the feet again, and "February" brings the two styles together seemlessly. The Scenario is really a 7-track, 30 minute ride, but the band opts to add on original versions of "Shinjuku by Night" and "February" to finish off the album. I expected this to be worthless demos of premature ideas, but they aren't and suceed in demonstrating some of the band's depth which was missing on the previous tracks.
Pawa Up First wasn't a band I was expecting to find attractive. I prefer my music to be daring and captivating, which The Scenario certainly is not. However, Pawa Up First settles itself into a very good groove on this album and excretes a mysterious aura. I find myself unsuspectingly drawn to this sound despite the simplicity involved and The Scenario is a welcome listen.
What Seas What ShoresWindsor
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Self ReleasedWhat Seas What Shores announces itself to the world with a four-track demo that spans nearly forty minutes worth of music, each track of which clocks in between seven and twelve minutes. This seven-piece is most likely to appeal to fans of Mono is much less of a repetitive band than , with slow, brooding compositions test the listener's patience but inevitably pay off with swift conclusions. To give credit where due, What Seas What Shores is much less of a repetitive band than Mono ever cared to be. Within a tangled web of gritty guitars and permissive feedback, the music is heightened by the presence of glockenspiel, keys, viola, and mandolins. The demo overall has a despondent, sweeping feel to it; it's not a highly interactive piece and doesn't suck the listener into a world of cascading instrumentation and frighteningly large build-ups and explosions. This tepid and consistently detached momentum allows the band to get the most of out its subtle instrumentation, much akin to the work of Gregor Samsa. As the moods may indicate, the demo doesn't provide a completely satisfactory experience, but it does provide a great introduction to the band and leaves us looking forward to what it may create in the future.
The four track demo from What Seas What Shores is a promising glimpse of what this band may have to offer to the world. It has an appreciation for the more traditional post-rock sounds while not relying on cookie-cutter formulas and clone techniques to accomplish the task. It wouldn't be difficult for this band to succumb to temptation and become GY!BE knockoffs, but these musicians are keeping their music honest and in time that investment will pay off.
~Jordan Volz