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February 23rd, 2010

Review :: Grown-Ups – I Can’t Win

Grown-Ups
I Can’t Win
(Bart Records)
Calgary, AB
::web/sounds::


From the post-pubescent sludge of Jesse Locke:
From The Cramps (radical) to Mates of State (barf) to the Plastic Ono Band (radical barfing), musical married couples are nothing new. However, what sets thee Grown-Ups’ Sara and Josiah Hughes apart is that they’re cuter than a pair of bulldogs on snowboards that know how to turn up the rock and turn down the suck. Joined by third member/producer Darrell on “dad guitar” (nice Conchords reference, guys), they’ve now teamed with the almighty Bart for tape release number two. Eight songs of angry punk sludge that sound just as pitted as their debut but now with more Crazy Horse guitar solos (see: opener “Meat”) and Art Brut-esque motivational meta-songs (see: “Start A Band!”). This is the soundtrack for the skateboarding video game you invented in your brain. The musical equivalent of a cherry-coke slurpee with a stolen chocolate bar tucked in the cup. The creepy-lovable cover photo rules too, but I really just wish it was a drawing of Odie crossed with Jughead.

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Grown-Ups – Meat

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Grown-Ups – Start A Band!

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Categoria!! alberta :: cassette :: New Canadiana | 1 Comment »

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 »

December 23rd, 2009

Review :: GreyScreen – Permastruct

Greyscreen - Permastruct GreyScreen
Permastruct
(Bart Records)
Calgary, AB
::web/sounds::


From the GameBoy™-gripping hands of Jesse Locke:
As far as music made on old school handheld video game systems goes, GreyScreen (a.k.a. Bart Records founder and retro pop culture fanatic Kevin Stebner) is the Michael Jordan of Caddilacs. The Charles Bronson of Chiptune? From the immaculate Value Village bargain bin packaging to the poetic RPG-inspired song titles (and of course the 8-bit chirps, burps and bleeps that make up these 22 songs), everything about GreyScreen’s debut tape reminds of a more innocent time spent agonizing over Alien Olympics 2044 AD in your parents’ basement. Of course, Stebs also uses modern technology like Nanoloop and LSDJ to concoct these micro-epics, but his DIY punk rock ethos is maintained all the same. Need more proof? Check his killer cover of Black Flag’s “Spray Paint” by downloading this comp.
[Levin's Note: The world was so much simpler when everyone had a Gameboy™. All a we had to do was level-up and the monsters went away. How do the kids sleep at night today? Look back to the dot-matrix; listen to the trailing ends of MIDI; and always remember to keep a fairy in the jar. Poppa don't hit me no mo'.]

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Greyscreen – The Sea in Jars

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Greyscreen – Water Drawn from Wells

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Greyscreen – From Heaven Fought Stars

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Categoria!! alberta :: cassette :: New Canadiana | 5 Comments »

August 5th, 2009

To the point.

Bayonets!!! - To The Point Bayonets!!!
To The Point
(Bart Records)
Edmonton, AB
::web/sounds::

Eleven thirty-second art-punk anthems straddling a thin-line between no-pop and art-wave (it would have been a lot less interesting for me to say “no-wave and art-pop,” so deal with it). Take ex-Mark Birtles Project and Wolfnote members and put them through the Homosexuals‘ school of everything-under-a-minute rock-anthemy as taught by Devo. You might be close. There’s nothing frivolous and only the good art is spared. It’s music; to the point. They obviously have a sense of humour, but the not the kind that gives you the “no” feeling. Bayonets!!! give me a “yes” feeling.

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Bayonets!!! – What Is It

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Bayonets!!! – Spank Lloyd Wright

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Categoria!! alberta :: cassette :: New Canadiana | 2 Comments »

July 15th, 2009

Brotherly woodpact.

GOBBLE GOBBLE - Neon Graveyard GOBBLE GOBBLE
Neon Graveyard
(Bart Records)
Edmonton, AB
::web/sounds::

There is nothing you can do to prepare for the body-vibrato-inducing onslaught of the 32-bit gravitron-pop that comprises GOBBLE GOBBLE. When I was 16 I saw Carrot Top live in Las Vegas with my mom; we sat next to Steven Speilberg’s brother and were told not to look at him. The whole time I was listening to The Jackson 5 on cassette and thinking about seeing Ed Tempelton as we drove through Huntington Beach. The sum of all these experiences (summer, confusion, pop, skateboarding, absurdity, humanity, my mom, and Carrot Top) is my only point of comparison to the aural space-scape of GOBBLE GOBBLE’s debut. For those of you who are not me, Neon Graveyard is like a combination of Dan Deacon and the new Dirty Projectors; experimental pedal pushing meets 91.7 The Bounce FM pop sensibilities. It’s incredibly lasting and rewarding after multiple listens (unlike Carrot Top). The live show is a different entity in itself; brain-altering displays of fluorescence with wine-bottle percussion, fiber optics, and a lot of dancing. GOBBLE GOBBLE for president.

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GOBBLE GOBBLE – Meteor Eschat

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GOBBLE GOBBLE – o Sacred Dandruff

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Categoria!! alberta :: cassette :: New Canadiana | 4 Comments »

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