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Earlstown Winter

Porch Lights (Worn Records)

Review By Katherine Boothroyd

Vancouver folk-country artists Earlstown Winter released their five-track EP, which plays much in the same vein of local group Eldorado with their brand of sweet-loving country music.

The opening track, “Porch Lights”, is a slow burning moody ballad about lost love. It has a gentle, rolling, organic feel that is a perfect introduction to the band. Porch Lights is a very laidback affair. Each song is stripped back in terms of sound, but they don’t suffer for it.

Singer-songwriter Jonathan Truefitt makes it all worth listening to. Truefitt has such a unique voice that one must hear to believe, as nothing is really comparable to it. Even with a single listen, anyone would be convinced that this guy’s broken heart is authentic. Read More »

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Hollerado

Record In A Bag (Royal Mountain Records)

Review By Nathaniel Bryce

Record In A Bag is the debut CD from Manotick, Ontario-band Hollerado, and if first impressions are worth anything, then this band is the money. The album begins on self-conscious footing with “Hollerado Land,” a short, engaging live number that reminds me of those dorky Michael Cera-type kids you want to hug and give a wedgie to at the same time. Problem is this dorky kid is pretty cool and can actually play a really mean rock tune. What is refreshing about this music is that it almost feels as though the band hasn’t fully realized their talent, or maybe they do and they’re just being cheeky and holding back their awkward radness. Whatever they’re up to, it works really well and it’s no surprise the attention they’ve drawn to themselves so far. For the most part, the songs borrow from the formula that made Weezer famous: punchy guitar and drums that wake you up like a jump in a cold lake, coupled with memorable sing-along vocals that draw your attention and sink into your core. All of this comes together into an album chock full of near perfect pop songs that’ll grow on you like that weird nerd kid who you can’t quite figure out but can’t help but love anyway.

Good pop music played well can be so shamelessly good, and Hollerado definitely have the chops and songwriting ability to sway the world with their fumbling dorky charm.

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Ora Cogan

The Quarry (Isolated Now Waves/Borne! Recordings)

Review By Justin Langille

Time apart from reality is hard to come by.

However, if you manage, separating one’s self from the rush of worldwide goings on can yield some truly revelatory perspective. On her latest album, The Quarry, Vancouver singer-songwriter Ora Cogan finds autonomy and uses it to project moments of her life into sonic fantasy.

Over the course of 13 tracks, Cogan combines the inherent blues of her brooding vocal range with evocative lyrical imagery, creating a storybook of song to travel through. This signature style of Cogan’s is employed to great effect on the ebbing devotional “Glass Tower” and standout title track “The Quarry.” Accompanied by the hypnotic finger-picking of her acoustic guitar, Cogan’s reverb-veiled voice guides us to a place in her landscape culled from a fond, yet seemingly dark memory. Sewn with careful composition and coloured by dissonant twang, “The Quarry” is only the midway point through this excursion. Read More »

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The Beige

El Angel Exterminador (Independent)

Review By Slavko Bucifal

The first minute or so of the Beige’s second studio album is indicative of the kind of experience you might expect through this kind of musical journey; dark, mysterious, beautiful, rich and interesting. The Vancouver-based quintet combines poetry with an eclectic mix of atmospheric ambiance, alt-country and funk-infused jazz. While mostly organic, they slip the sounds of a distorted viola and the odd ambient synth monster here and there, just to further darken the mood. As the title of the album suggests, you are probably not going to cuddle with someone over this one, though it is the perfect backdrop to write an angry letter. Read More »

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Bakers at Dawn

You Must Hide Your Love Forever (Peppermill Records)

Review By Claire Dickson

Bakers at Dawn - You Must Hide Your Love Forever

Holy moley, Bakers at Dawn’s newest release is called You Must Hide Your Love Forever and this title is a wee hint for its sound. It’s dark and grey, but also ultimately searching for something deeper, lovelier and more beautiful, like the light at the end of the tunnel or next summer’s sunlight. Marcus Sjoland, the only member of Bakers at Dawn, lives in the city of Malmo, Sweden. This is at the southern tip of the country, and only receives up to seven hours of daylight in the middle of winter, inducing suspicion that Sjoland has Super Seasonal Affective Daylight Disorder, a.k.a Super SADD. His music sounds like he spends a lot of time in the dark, rummaging around in thoughts, producing sounds and questioning days throughout a season of night. A line like “Sometimes I get lonely at night with imaginary friends” is just a sample of this mood. Read More »

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YACHT

"Let’s make that perfectly clear, we are going for the gold."

By Duncan M. McHugh, transcribed by Camilla Keen

YACHT, art by Melanie Coles

Yacht is—at the very least—an electronic dance band started by Portland’s Jona Bechtolt in 2003. Bechtolt, who has also played in the Blow, added Claire L. Evans to the band in 2008. Their latest album, See Mystery Lights, was released by DFA last year. They spoke to Duncan M. McHugh on his show Duncan’s Donuts just before their Canadian tour started. This is an excerpt from that conversation. Read More »

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Koban

"A higher power wanted us to start this band"

By Jordie Yow

Koban, photo by Ryan Walter Wagner

Koban owe their continued existence as a band (and a fruit basket) to some conscientious bus drivers who saved bassist Brittany Westgarth from her burning home.

Late at night a fuse blew in the house that they shared with some friends, which caused a fire to break out while everyone was sleeping. Sam Buss, the other half of Koban, was at work, but Westgarth was woken at night to discover a lot of smoke and a group of worried bus drivers who had seen the fire from the street.
With only a short period of time to get out, Westgarth had one priority—to save her and Buss’ bass guitars and then wait for the fire department. Read More »

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Oh No! Yoko Vs. Highschool

"We used to be a four-piece, but we kicked Lucas Thiessen out because he plays rugby."

By Julie Colero

Oh No! Yoko, photo by Noah Moorhouse, art by Lindsey Hampton

Abbotsford, B.C.:
Murder capital of Canada, home to many a Menno(nite) and hotbed of high school musical talent. About five years ago, You Say Party! We Say Die! busted out of the small-town-minded city, as did Fun 100. The next wave is now, and it’s awash with musicians who are, honestly, quite happy to stay put. In the case of Oh No! Yoko, a quirky, keyboard-laden indie pop band, they don’t really have a choice—all three members are currently in grade 11, so the occasional school-night show is adventure enough for the time being.

For anyone not attending W. J. Mouat Secondary, a first introduction to Oh No! Yoko was likely provided by the CBC’s On The Coast radio program when they held their Best High School Band competition last fall. Shortlisted to the top 10 were two Abbotsford bands, Oh No! Yoko and Christian hardcore screamo band, We Lay Fallen. The fact that, all of a sudden, moms the province over were into their music, had the boys in the bands pretty darn excited. Read More »

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Fake Jazz Resurrects Itself

A festival and a new night

By Justin Langille

Illustration by Karlene Harvey

When Vancouver’s premier punk pigpen the Cobalt folded in August, Bill Batt and Anju Singh were among the many musicians left with virtually no venue to play at. [ed. The Cobalt has reopened, but without Wendy13 running it and nothing worth the trip has happened there yet.] Batt, Singh and Shearing Pinx drummer Jeremy Van Wyck were the organizers of Fake Jazz, an influential night of experimental noise and punk held every Wednesday at the defunct bar.

Arranged as an open mic of sorts, artists would apply to play and were scheduled in by Batt, Singh and Van Wyck on a rotating basis, ensuring that everyone got a turn to bring their innovations to the table. Everything from Grateful Dead inspired jams to sonic performances conducted with drills and water were welcome.

Just as it ended, Fake Jazz was garnering a reputation in national music press, Exclaim in particular, as a breeding ground for West Coast musical innovation. Read More »

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Fanshaw

"In Dark Eyes, Fanshaw creates an old-school feel while exploring new avenues for creating and channelling sound."

By Dorothy Neufeld and Debby Reis

Fanshaw, art by Tyler Crich

“Four years ago, I just had a guitar and it just sort of culminated at that point. I had never written any songs before and didn’t know guitar at the time. I stole my Dad’s guitar and thought about things that were going on,” Olivia Fetherstonhaugh, who writes, records and performs as Fanshaw, told Discorder one recent evening.

Thank goodness for us that that night came along. Fanshaw’s sound and lyrics have captured Vancouver audiences since her Shindig win in 2007. Her low, husky vocals resonate in a very personal and intimate way and her songs have the power to trigger instant affection and warmth. Mint Records must agree. They signed Fanshaw to a record deal and Dark Eyes came out in February 2010.

“I wrote half the record in a few months,” Fethersonhaugh said while wearing a casual black sweater with her hair slightly askew. The rest of the record, however, took another four years to complete. “I always intended it to be a full length album and was willing to wait instead of putting the early stuff in,” she said. Read More »

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that magazine from CiTR 101.9fm

March 2010

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