weird canada » power pop

New Canadiana :: Quaker Parents – No Crime When Covered In Grime

admin — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 12:00:58 +0000

Quaker Parents
No Crime When Covered In Grime
(Hot Money Records)
Halifax, NS
::web/sounds::

From the grime spree of Alison Lang:

Tape number three from the brothers Grundy feels like a lyric poem that was torn into shards and taped back together again, peaking with “When You Can’t Beat the Dream,” a song that stutters and starts and spits, talking pretty about the edges of consciousness and old rays of light. This band excels at describing the intangible; each song’s mathy meat gives the delicate lyrics weight and heft. Quaker Parents are part of a Halifax vanguard making healthy music that’s good for the brain and body and soul, cleverly disguised with blink-and-you-miss-them hooks. These are songs you can hold onto and listen to over and over again, until you get older, until you smile at last in understanding.

Quaker Parents – Get In

Quaker Parents – When You Can’t Beat The Dream

New Canadiana :: Quaker Parents // Dream Friends – Tap Turns Off // Dream Girls

admin — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 12:00:30 +0000

Quaker Parents // Dream Friends
Tap Turns Off // Dream Girls
(Hot Money Records)
Halifax, NS
::web/sounds:: // ::web/sounds::

From the overgrown dreamscapes of Jessica Faulds:

This EP is a one-two Haligonian punch that will split (pun intended) your lip and leave you sucking its tangy aftertaste till you flip the tape to get another faceful. Quaker Parents bring a dose of helium-inflated ’faxpop that hops and reverses quicker than a Dukes of Hazzard car chase. Haphazardly tossing off bons mots and melodic firecrackers, the Parents bask forever in a summer of magical thinking. Dream Friends crank the grunge dial up a notch but match their tapemates’ cultural literacy and easy hookery lick for finger-lickin’ lick. True to their name, these aural explorers hack at flora of overgrown dreamscapes with serrated blades, dodging overhanging fronds and staring straight into the unreal haze. Grip and ponder: where would we be without parents and friends?

Dream Friends – Aging Sportstar

Quaker Parents – Teeshirt

Departures :: The Modern Minds – Theresa’s World b/w Bungalow Rock, It’s Gone

admin — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 12:30:16 +0000

The Modern Minds
Theresa’s World b/w Bungalow Rock, It’s Gone
(Bumstead)
Edmonton, AB
Originally Released: 1980

From the punk violence of Aaron Levin:

In his infinite pursuit of happiness, Moe Berg tore Edmonton asunder with his madly obscure pop bonanza, The Modern Minds. Their lone, over-sized 7″ comes packaged in a sandwich bag and screams ultimate grippage with its chic 80s print and references to the Pointed Sticks and Rock ‘n’ Roll Bitches plastered on the back. Inside the 7″ is teeming with Berg’s teen angst, kiltered hooks, and bewildering guitar shreddery, making it an instant hit factory for anyone fortunate enough to stumble into a copy. Berg’s brilliance resides in cementing every lyric and riff deep within your pop consciousness while transfiguring his strangely warm and intimate personality into every frenetic strum. He remains a personal favorite and infinite source of ridiculous pop inspiration. While Weird Canada fetishes the physical object, the true majesty of The Modern Minds is best experienced through the Japanese reissue of in-studio tracks performed (presumably) at CKUA, or you can venture through these recently-surfaced live recordings featuring covers of The Modernettes and a song about Edmonton stabbings! BERGMONTON!

The Modern Minds – Theresa’s World
The Modern Minds – It’s Gone

New Canadiana :: Young Guv + The Scuzz – Bedroom Eyes b/w Rumors

admin — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 12:30:54 +0000

Young Guv + The Scuzz
Bedroom Eyes b/w Rumors
(Pleasence Records)
Toronto, ON
::web/sounds::

From the bedroom eyes of Aaron Levin:

The Guv has leaped from a formidable garage-punk stronghold deep into the nefarious waters of arena rock (via The Scuzz). Stadium crowds howl as tsunamis generated from Young Guv’s buoyant body hurl us through power pop plurality. Rafts of saxophone hook thousands of gripping hands while Guv’s bedroom eyes lure us into AOR oblivion. Let those pure of grip linger in the beautiful eye of the storm. Godspeed to the rest of you.

Young Guv + The Scuzz – Bedroom Eyes
Young Guv + The Scuzz – Rumors

New Canadiana :: Actual Water – Latoya b/w Latoya (A Cappella Mix)

admin — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 12:30:20 +0000

Actual Water
Latoya b/w Latoya (A Cappella Mix)
(Scotch Tapes // Young Guv)
Toronto, ON
::web/sounds::

From the Latonic vibes of Aaron Levin:

Actual Water return with flourishing pop familiarity. A veritable anthem for teen lovers (and burnt, middle-aged adults yearning for a sip from the fountain of popular youth), “Latoya” is an instance source of vibronic sensation, driving romantic conviction through your ectoplasm into the eternal core of your quad-valve palpitator. Steady twelve-string madness, insatiable marimba, and a hilariously rad back-up vocal bonanza complete the ridiculously summery attitude, granting this fifth lathe the title of “infinite jam.”

Actual Water – Latoya

New Canadiana :: Long, Long, Long – Who The Fuck Said Family Ain’t Family No More

admin — Mon, 09 May 2011 12:30:48 +0000

Long, Long, Long
Who The Fuck Said Family Ain’t Family No More
(Self Released)
Halifax, NS
::web/sounds::

From the geometric fashion of Jesse Locke:

Scrambling assembly line hooks with élan, Halifax’s self-dubbed ‘Factory-Pop’ superstars deliver the goods yet again on this tour cassette. The opening two-song salvo might be the band’s gentlest passage to date, while their trademark three-part vocals sound downright angelic. Yet Long, Long, Long’s complex choreography still spirals, squeals and corkscrews with unpredictable guitarmonies, and by the time eight-minute monolith “You’ll Not Guess Who I Met In Minnesota” hits its apex, we’re in ear bleeding country. Add a sidelong backward-swooping soundscape on the flip, and you’ve got essential listening.

Long, Long, Long – There Are Tape Machines Down There
Long, Long, Long – You’ll Not Guess Who I Met in Minnesota

New Canadiana :: Solids – Generic Dogs

admin — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 14:00:34 +0000

Solids
Generic Dogs
(L’œil du Tigre)
Montreal, QC
::web/sounds::

Du charcoal de Gabriel Jasmin:

Je vais vous dire un secret à propos du premier EP de Solids. Ils ont trouvé son nom, Generic Dogs, alors que les gars étaient à un BBQ, affirmant comment les saucisses sans marque font les meilleurs hot-dogs. Dans une certaine mesure, je pourrais dire la même chose de ce duo montréalais. Leur musique est simple, directe et entraînante, n’affichant aucune prétention de réinventer quoi que ce soit. Une fois assaisonnés de délicieux condiments, notamment la superbe qualité d’enregistrement et les voix en chœur, ces generic dogs méritent leur place de choix parmi les meilleurs bands de power-grunge-pop mélancolique. Je vous dévoile un autre secret à propos de ce EP : l’édition vinyle sera en vente très très bientôt.

Hot from the grill of Gabriel Jasmin:
I’ll tell you a secret about Solid’s first EP. Its name, Generic Dogs, came up when the dudes were at a BBQ, figuring how generic brand sausages make the best hot dogs. To some extent, I’m thinking the same goes for this rad Montreal duo. Their music is straight up, simple, catchy, baring no pretension of reinventing anything. Given tasty toppings, such as great recording quality and double tracked vocals, these generic dogs gain their standing among Canada’s top melancholy drenched power-grunge-pop bands. I’ll tell you another secret about this release: look for it pressed on vinyl very, very soon.

Solids – Whatevers and Neverminds
Solids – Generic Town

New Canadiana :: Quaker Parents – Huge Mask

admin — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 17:00:40 +0000

Quaker Parents
Huge Mask
(Self Released)
Halifax, NS
::web/sounds::

From the wondrous forms of Aaron Levin:
Micro bursts of power pop jammery. Dusted skirts of minor-key mellow. Punching, drawing, blinding, swiping, soothing, Huge Mask fires pop quanta at a bewildering, Haligonian gallop. It’s a Parisian gnu-wave of genre cut-ups and catchy brilliance. Another nugget of Long, Long, Long relation.
Quaker Parents – Evil Deeds
Quaker Parents – I Know No One

New Canadiana :: James Leroy – Distinction

admin — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 18:00:09 +0000

James Leroy
Distinction
(Scotch Tapes)
Lethbridge, AB
::web/sounds::

From the power pop distinction of Jesse Locke:
Since the dawn of the aughts, Lethbridge music mainstay Paul Lawton and songwriting partner JL Hankey have been cranking out infectious little pop tunes under a variety of aliases (James and The Giant, Coruscant, Light Years and James Leroy). The pitch-shifted vox will turn heads first, yet the duo’s tweaked backdrops include everything from slacker jangle to AM radio breeze, canned crowd sounds to Rapture-ous debauchery (when’s the last time you heard that comparison?). Distinction collects the cream of the crop before the pair’s latest project The Ketamines drops its debut LP on Dead Beat Records, plus 7-inches on HoZac, Southpaw and Odd Box.
James Leroy – Wasting Our Time
James Leroy – Celebration
James Leroy – Nervous

New Canadiana :: JAZZ – BURNT

admin — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 16:00:24 +0000

JAZZ
BURNT
(Self Released)
Edmonton, AB
::web/sounds::

From the burnt riddims of Jesse Locke:
On JAZZ’s debut c8, Weird Canada overlord Aaron Levin — backed by pals from Gobble Gobble, Dropping Out and the Wicked Awesomes! — channels his hyperbolic written enthusiasm into quadro-spazzed blink-and-you’ll-miss-‘em ragers. Fall might be creeping into winter, but international jangle-punk superhits like “Your Stuff”, “Cowboy” and especially the stupidly catchy “Summer” will bring you right back to the glorious (hot) dog days. Bonus points for the über creepy cover photo of Levin Senior and his leather-clad ladyfriend. Frettin’ about conflicts of interest is for chumps…
JAZZ – Your Stuff
JAZZ – Summer