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March 3rd, 2010

Review :: Bad Vibrations – Bad Vibrations

Bad Vibrations
Bad Vibrations
(Brotherhood Cassettes)
Halifax, NS
::web/sounds::


From the not-so-bad vibrations of James Goddard:
Sometimes I imagine a future where everyone has forgotten what a guitar actually sounds like; Children brought up on a steady diet of French pop and Swedish 8-bit. Eventually, current trends like lo-fi would become ailments listed in the DSM VII with prescriptions like: 2 hours of Kumbaya orchestrated by battery-operated MicroKorgs (twice daily, with food). Things would be bad. Luckily former Dog Day drummer KC Spidle has strapped on a six string and stepped to the foreground to ensure such a future will never happen. Bad Vibrations play guitar music. They play the kind of three piece power-pop that begs for adjectives like dark or gloomy; and they play it well. Eschewing any kind of overt studio trickery, the members of Bad Vibrations (KC, Evan and Meg) have put together a crisp sounding record that subtly recalls that classic 90s Halifax sound. Nothing could be further from an all-electro dystopia.
[Levin's Note: James forgot the positive side of an all-electro dystopia: Gino Soccio all day 'ere day.]

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Bad Vibrations – We’re Dead

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Bad Vibrations – Think About Life

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

September 11th, 2009

Review :: Krang – Cold Bebop EP

Krang - Cold Bebop EP Krang
Cold Bebop EP
(Self Released)
Edmonton, AB
::web/sounds::

From the private pantry of Dr. Jesse Locke:
Edmonton’s Krang began as a drum and bass (not D&B) duo featuring mustachioed main-men Jordan Foster and Jared Majeski, cheekily dubbing themselves the Two Man Electrical Band. However, it wasn’t until the enlisting of Zebra Pulse’s Parker Thiessen on cracked electronics, clarinet and manipulated kids toys that the trio truly cemented their sound. Now, with Foster and Majeski trading off tripped-out, heavily echoed vocals over hypnotic Sabbath riffs (dig the Master of Reality-influenced album art), lonely harmonica and what sounds like a malfunctioning robot squealing away abrasively high in the mix, these teenage mutants have raised the gnar bar high. [Levin's note: I like these dudes because they sound like German art-punk on meth.]

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Krang – Gone Gone Gone

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Krang – Ships

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