November 12th, 2009

From the cave of earthly desires curated by Paul Lawton:
No other band is able to convey the unease, trepidation and frustration of living within the booming Alberta economy like Sharp Ends. It’s true, Calgarians live the complete opposite material circumstances of, say, the early UK Factory Records scene (heh). Yet, extremes are extremes, and the destitute Manchester of the early 80′s and inane economic ante-upping of modern Alberta are equally as efficient at marginalizing the weak and powerlessness. And so emerges Sharp Ends, the voice of our discontent, music to soothe the general malaise. Their secret weapon is guitarist Danny Christiansen. Danny’s guitar skulks for the first half of “Ghosts of Chance,†bass and drum churning away with vocalist Chris Zajko lurking in the shadow, enveloping the room, and putting the listener into a trance. Waiting for its epic entrance, the guitar bursts into white light, from sepia tone to full technicolour before fading out and taking all hope with it. On “Northern Front”, the guitar meanders and constantly leaves you wanting (especially the mini guitar suite at the end of the song). Sharp Ends are the real deal: so much complexity stuffed into music so simple. Everything you want in a band.
[Levin's Note: Living in Edmonton makes the acuteness of it's being that much more powerful. A+]
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Sharp Ends – Ghosts of Chance
File under: HoZac // power pop // punk // wave
Categoria!! 7" :: New Canadiana :: alberta | 23 Comments »
November 10th, 2009

Sharp Ends were the source of rampant rumours in our village square during 2009′s adjective-fest (read: Sled Island) and they’ve quickly become the talk of North America’s underground after a debut single on Chicago’s bozak-repellant HoZac Records. With a new single on Lethbridge’s beautifully curated Mammoth Cave Recordings, Sharp Ends briefly depart from the rolling bass, bludgeonly drums, and red-line vocals to surprise us with one of the best B-sides left of Winnipeg (I’ve always wanted to say that!). Loaded Hearts will rip you into Legoâ„¢-chunks of teenage angst within seconds of launching; it’s classic DIY jangle with way too much attitude tastefully balanced by top-notch laxidasical chanting and relentless guitar shreddery. This isn’t to say Crack Trap doesn’t also deliver, just in an entirely different way; Crack Trap tickles the inner post-punk / college-radio basement-nerd inside of every loser going Dutch and buying $100 7″s on the sly (myself (proudly) included). There are many treasures inside the Mammoth Cave.
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Sharp Ends – Loaded Hearts
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Sharp Ends – Crack Trap
File under: power pop // punk // wave
Categoria!! 7" :: New Canadiana :: alberta | 3 Comments »