Tag: vancouver

Pleased to Meet You: The Pierce Kingans

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The role of the small label is to throw support behind something you truly believe in, something you think will rise to top, something you want the whole world to hear…at least that’s how I see it. I think Subjangle Sounds it taking the same approach with the release of Pierce and Love to all the World, a compilation of sorts from The Pierce Kingnans. In this collection, you’ll find yourself enjoying 20 pop ditties, just on the right side of weird. Some tunes, like “No One Owns You,” carry the intimacy of bedroom pop, though you can get crisp rocking ditties like “It’s Bleed Too Long” too. For me, there’s just so much to digest, which is why I’m glad that the record’s a great introduction to an artists that currently has my tastebuds intrigued. What say you?

Be Afraid Share Automatic Worry

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Vancouver act Be Afraid have their Remember Fun EP on the horizon, so they’ve shared this fun track to grab your attention. The band are fusing elements of punk and classic rock with a pop sensibility that you’d likely find in any modern pop rock outfit; the sound is ultimately familiar, with just enough wrinkles to make the band stand out amongst peers. I love the chorus where female and male vocals share the stage to maximize the melody while keyboard wizardry gallops through the background. If you dig what you’re hearing, as you should, then you can grab the cassette on May 8th via Hidden Bay Records.

Woolworm Announce New LP, Awe

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The opening five seconds of this brand new Woolworm track definitely got me; that drum roll moving into those ringing riffs really set me up. I love how the verse came in and offered up a certain softness, especially when that backing vocal sparingly enters the picture. Moving fast, it quickly jumps towards the chorus, where the notes get downshifted ever-so-slightly, taking on more melody and giving off an even softer mood. They call this “Vancouver blanket rock,” and they’re spot on because I just want to snuggle up next to this song and kick back into Tuesday. Awe will be out on November 8th via Mint Records.

 

Stream Good Morning From Counterfeit Jeans

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Not so long ago we shared with you a newly discovered Vancouver band going by the name of Counterfeit Jeans. Well now the boys have sent along their complete new album Good Morning and we are happy to share a complete stream with you below. What I dig most about this band is my complete inability to pin them down into one specific genre. At times, you can hear atmospheric backgrounds like on opening track “Osiris”, but then the band will throw you for a loop with a more noise rock sound on a track like “Medication”. This band is multifaceted with a ton of new layers to discover each time you listen to Good Morning.

If you’re into it, this album is currently for sale via Vancouver label Kingfisher Bluez.

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Everyone Needs More NOV3L in Their Life

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Listening to NOV3L I can’t help running through the various memories in my mind at all the great dance parties we had when kids started revisiting classic acts like Gang of Four…eventually leading us into the realm of Franz Ferdinand and various like minded acts. I mention those two because the Vancouver act, who’ve just announced their debut EP seem to combine the styles of the two in a fresh fashion. The guitars are angular and sharp, just like GoF would rock in their heyday, but there’s still this pop sensibility that pulls folks out of their bar stools and onto the dance floor. Geez….you really need this in your lyfe. Look for the debut EP via Flemish Eye Records on February 15th.

Dan Mangan – More Or Less

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Rating: ★★★★☆

I had to search our own site to find out how long it’s been since I’ve posted an album review and I will refrain from embarrassing myself with the exact timeframe, though you could search yourself I guess. We as an ATH staff have been neglectful as a whole when it comes to album reviews and we are hoping to rectify this moving forward. Hopefully you can understand that if an album has brought me out of my review slumber it must be a great one. The very soon to be released new album from Dan Mangan, More Or Less, is just such an album because, holy hell, it’s impressive. Hit the jump for some thoughts, photos, and tunes.

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Straight Rock From Dead Soft

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More often than not, I like to kick it old school with my musical tastes. Ya know some old emo/post-emo style tunes or throwbacks to 90s era grunge/alt-rock are sure to pull at my heart strings. Well my friends in Vancouver based band Dead Soft deliver the later style today with this new song “Down”. It’s certainly a grunge, alternative rock song similar to something you might have heard on the indie stations back in the late 90s. Bing bang boom.

Dead Soft will release their latest EP New Emotion on October 5th via Arts & Crafts.

Lie Ready Hounds

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Feel like today had me going into a casual place of joy, so I had to make sure I introduced you to something slightly darker, like Vancouver’s Lie(note, there’s an accent over the e, wordpress sucks). The group just announced their newest album, Hounds, by offering up this smashing number. Guitars immediately push you in one direction, rushing you with their discordant chugs as the drums shatter through your speakers. Those cavernous folks help the song’s natural ambiance, darkening your soul while your body tries to catch up with the rhythm. Plus, the new effort is guaranteed good times, as it’s being released by Mint Recs in Canada and Monofonus Press in the US; it drops July 6th.

New Music from Dumb

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While I’m obviously partial to Austin band, Dumb, this great tune is actually from a Vancouver act of the same name. This Dumb employ a jagged stutter in their guitar work, with frantic bass work that’s reminiscent of acts in the vein of Omni. It’s a bouncing good time with a certain indifference in the vocal delivery, even including a nice little noisy guitar solo along the way to the song’s finish line. It all sounds to me like great bits of art-punk where tight guitar lines cut the rug with nerdy lyrical lines; look forward to the band’s new Seeing Green LP, which drops on June 22nd via Mint Records.

Premiere: New Track from Noble Son

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I like the immediacy of this new track from Noble Son; it hits the listener right off the bat with its guitar circling the stomp of the drum work. A playful piano line adds an extra layer to the song just before Adam Kirschner delivers his first vocal line. He’s got a distinctive set of pipes, but I love the operatic power it holds the most, soaring above the mix in a marvelous fashion. It’s strange, but perhaps the best compliment I can offer this tune is that I never hear the same thing…at times I am attracted to the unfolding bounce, other times it’s the tinkering piano line…all pointing to an album of great promise. Joy in Violence will be self-released on March 30th, with a slew of Canadian tour dates around the release.

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