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January 30th, 2012

New Canadiana :: Depatterning – The Blasted Health

Depatterning - The Blasted Health
From the monstrous constellation of Jesse Locke:
Wist Rec.’s clever Book Report series earns a crackling, bubbling 3” CD soundtrack from prairie elder label chief Gary Mentanko. The stately soundwaves coaxed through the ether of H.P. Lovecraft’s 1927 tome spew forth from the disk tray with m-Log outerspacials, disembodied radio plays and guttural gurgles from the belly of the bog. A cherished grip for literati and object fetishists alike.

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Depatterning – Framgent 1

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Depatterning – Fragment 2

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Depatterning – Fragment 3

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Categoria!! book :: compact disc :: New Canadiana :: saskatchewan | No Comments »

December 1st, 2011

New Canadiana :: Shooting Guns – Born To Deal in Magic: 1952-1976

From the pusher man hex of Jared Majeski:
Today’s harem of mind-expanding disciples has once again enslaved the flaxen western pastures with expansive aural trudge. Toon Town is home to psych giants Shooting Guns, and with Born To Deal in Magic: 1952-1976, they preach their apocalyptic revival to the unwashed masses — leaving a few carcasses along the way. We’re past the antiquation of combines, crop dusters and funny towns; enter the time of the hyper-evolved mountain man making even more mountainous sounds. With song titles like “Public Taser”, “Last Great Depression” and “Stay Awake Forever”, you can truly feel the devilish lament in the hearts and bones of this five-piece. With more releases in the near horizon, that sweet, groovy haze will just get that much sweeter. Good thing these guys bring their lunch pails to work.

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Shooting Guns – Black Hand

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Shooting Guns – Cheater’s Justice

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Categoria!! compact disc :: New Canadiana :: saskatchewan | 1 Comment »

November 10th, 2011

New Canadiana :: Feral Children – Feral Children

  • Feral Children
  • Feral Children
  • (Self Released)
  • Saskatoon, SK
  • ::web/sounds::
From the boson ra of Aaron Levin and Jesse Locke:
Saskatchewan’s bosonic youth continue their fluorescent acceleration into celestial pop abandon. Dirty boots tumble in an Electrolux spin cycle of voltaic hiccups and stadium-sized axe swings, swirling atop candy-coloured halos to illuminate the cranium of feral brainchild Ryan Davidson. Church of the Kaos Pad cult is in session, so leave your reductions at the gate and get cleansed.

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Feral Children – Free Fantasy

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Feral Children – This Is Where The Sun Is Now

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Categoria!! compact disc :: New Canadiana :: saskatchewan | 6 Comments »

July 15th, 2011

New Canadiana :: Feral Children – Reverb b/w Ancient Videotape

From the vespertine beach of Jared Majeski:
If you’ve ever seen Ryan Davidson (a.k.a. Feral Children) perform, you’ve watched the life cycle of a cosmic organism; layers upon layers of unsullied resonance and yearning psychedelic beauty. Now surrounded by a trio of musicians, Davidson has a freshly decadent invitation to discovery. A-side “Reverb” (re: BANGER) sublimates into a driving, noisy cluster of Britannian modernity. “Ancient Videotape” is a slow, virgin treasure awash on vespertine beaches — submerged, languished and innocent. The very first (of hopefully many more) releases from Saskatoon’s Leaning Trees Records

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Feral Children – Reverb

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Feral Children – Ancient Videotape

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Categoria!! 7" :: New Canadiana :: saskatchewan | 1 Comment »

April 8th, 2011

New Canadiana :: Shooting Guns – Harmonic Steppenwolf b/w Dopestrings

  • Shooting Guns
  • Harmonic Steppenwolf b/w Dopestrings
  • (Self Released)
  • Saskatoon, SK
  • ::web/sounds::
From the ungodly broth of Jared Majeski:
Inhabiting the same netherworld that bore another wyrd shapeshifter, landlocked wizards Shooting Guns have loosened the chains on a double-wide psychedelic stampede. Sleep-y riff drones meander the prairie plane, giving stoners and weary-eyed roadsters the asphalt jilts. Crunchy roll-off and fuzz stir “Harmonic Steppenwolf” in an ungodly broth of delay and analog FX, while “Dopestrings” is that fateful trundle off the impending buffalo jump. It’s an unrelenting dirge of the heaviest kind – a doomy soundtrack to isolation among one-horse towns and two-horse centres this side of the Canadian Shield. These freaky longhairs are masters of their prey, and leave nothing to waste except your miiiiiiiinds.

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Shooting Guns – Harmonic Steppenwolf

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Shooting Guns – Dopestrings

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Categoria!! 7" :: New Canadiana :: saskatchewan | 4 Comments »

March 22nd, 2011

New Canadiana :: Aunty Panty – AP EP

  • Aunty Panty
  • AP EP
  • (yo’ mama$ ¢redit ¢ard rekkid$)
  • Saskatoon, SK
  • ::web/sounds::
From the red-ink briefs of Aaron Levin:
Scanner-destroying sans-wave from the antagonizing wastelands of Saskatoon. Aunty Panty’s digital halo debut is a dualic descent into derelict guitar destruction and vocal annihilation. Hammered strikes against their metallic strings clangor amongst the concrete waves of red-lined vocals and four-four drummery. A severe peak into the marginalized sounds running rampant in our wheat-filled prairies.

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Aunty Panty – Mal Au Coeur

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Aunty Panty – Cunt

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January 31st, 2011

New Canadiana :: Auld Beak – 4 Songs

From the sprawling horros of Aaron Levin:
The genre forgery at Bart Records continues to astound. Gripping from the nest that birthed 90s radicalia, Saskatoon’s Auld Beak seamlessly blend their sinusoids into a hurly burly of 90s catch, screaming intimacy, and post-hardcore guitar wizardry. The result is bewildering and addictive, driving you to spend hours hopelessly picking apart their orthogonal streams. Definitely something brewing at Bart Records HQ (see Stalwart Sons). Strange currents indeed!

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Auld Beak – G.B.H.

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Auld Beak – Cat Song

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Categoria!! cassette :: New Canadiana :: saskatchewan | No Comments »

January 15th, 2011

Departures :: T. Lyles – …Songs from the Heart

T. Lyles
…Songs from the Heart
(Toon Town Records)
Saskatoon, SK
Originally Released: 1995


From the kraazy Saskatoon lovertude of Christopher Bateman:
Ever wondered what a Prince or Babyface-inspired boy from the Canadian prairies looks and sounds like? By 1995, New Jack Swing was on its way out of radio favor and Saskatoon is about as far from a stronghold of hip hop informed R&B that you can get, but for better or for worse, that never stopped Indianapolis-born T. Lyles from putting out a collection of New Jack swangers in the heart of Joni-town. It is not exactly clear how Lyles is connected to Saskatoon, but it was there that he created his 12-bar New Jack rub-down of an album. For the most part, the disc is more weird than bangin’, but it stands as a curious peek into an outsider prairie new jack inductee. Also: check the T-fade.

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T. Lyles – Kraazy

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T. Lyles – Friends

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Categoria!! compact disc :: Departures Revisited :: saskatchewan | 3 Comments »

January 22nd, 2010

Review :: Various Artists – The Compilation of Hope!!

Various Artists
The Compilation of Hope!!
(Bart Records)
Asterisk, Canada
::web/sounds::


From the compiled danglings of Jesse Locke:
The Comp of Hope starts off with a serious wallop: the 1-2-3 whirligig of Vancouver’s Damages, Nova Scotia’s Minivan Halen (snagging the prize for Best New Band Name) and Toronto’s Place Hands, three groups with distinct yet equally imposing approaches to the post- / proto- / avant- / eff-it-let’s-just-get-rowdy hardcore continuum. Bart Records founder Kevin Stebner seems to favour the tuff gnarl stuff, with seven of the comp’s 10 acts setting their phasers to beatdown. From the spazzy attack of Abbotsford’s GSTS! to the rastafried “turbo jamz” of Edmonton’s Slates, Missisauga’s Whiskey Priest and unfuckwithable label faves Gift Eaters closing it off, this cassette could provide the perfect aggro soundtrack for any hesher’s backyard mini-ramp sesh. The softer side of weird Canadiana is also represented with the Strokes-meet-a-blown-out-Casio addictiveness of Swwords (the former project of this very site’s founder), Montreal’s math-pop dangereux duo Special Noise and a live jam from the inimitable dd/mm/yyyy. Another top-notch tape release from Bart, with awesome foldout liner art (front & back) from Calgary’s Heather Kai Smith.
[Levin's Note: This has the most links of any review on Weird Canada. Which means you get to virtually travel across Canada, all thanks to Bart Records. Benjoy!]

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Special Noise – Fitness

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Minivan Halen – Epic

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SLATES – blooloend

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swwords – The Hit

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Categoria!! alberta :: british columbia :: cassette :: manitoba :: New Canadiana :: nova scotia :: ontario :: quebec :: saskatchewan | 1 Comment »

September 25th, 2009

Review :: Poler Bear – Poler Bear

Poler Bear - Poler Bear Poler Bear
Poler Bear
(Self Released)
Saskatoon, SK
::web/sounds::


Saskatoon is Canada’s secret cultural hot-spot. The last time I was in Saskatoon I yelled at Herbie Hancock from afar, found one of the rarest Canadian psych records for $3 (Christmas on Paragon), made-out with a Lesbian, and stumbled upon picture sleeves from one of Canada’s best garage 7″s (The Witness Inc. – Not You Girl). My fondness with Saskatoon continued when I met Feral Children and seems to grow with each Weird Canada submission from the city. Thus, it comes with no surprise that I stumble upon another creative genius conjuring soundscapes in their Saskatoon basement. Poler Bear’s ambient canvasses are captivating in every way they shouldn’t be; fluxes of multi-instrumental blankets forming pop structures and catchy wisps too slow and wavering for radio pop but too structured to bear the avant-garde moniker. Most of the songs are built around narratives from Canada’s landscape: water, people, television, and birds; all playing a role in shaping Poler Bear’s soundtrack. It’s mellow and soothing and time seems to slip away every time I listen. Hopefully my next trip to Saskatoon will feature more artifacts of Canada’s underground, including Poler Bear.

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Poler Bear – Parachute

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Poler Bear – Ships Don’t Soar With Stone Sails

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Categoria!! compact disc :: New Canadiana :: saskatchewan | 3 Comments »

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