Vancouver Music Review

Shout At People – Beekeeper
Released Jan 26, 2013
Reviewed by Char

Beekeeper’s Shout At People, starts out in a manner that perfectly reflects the feel of the band. Their first song is a 40 second long chaotic jumble of sound entitled “Bees” that is part comedic part operatic and totally Beekeeper. “I Don’t Need Hope, I Need Whisky” is the most polished song on the album. I love the collaboration between guitarist Devon Lougheed and bassist Brandi Sidoryk. The album is definitely on the extreme side of quirky, but there is something intriguing about this band that is not for the weak of heart. Most songs can take a stylistic 180 rather quickly, but at least Beekeeper keeps you on your toes. “Oh, Hi!” goes from experimental rock to hoe down in the blink of an eye. The band self categorized the song as a “cowpunk love song” Shout At People definitely walks the fine line between complete chaos and complete brilliance 

The Verdict: Beekeeper is definitely a band that grows on you over time. Give this album several listens before you toss it by the wayside. You never know they might become one of your favourite local acts!

Heartthrob – Tegan and Sara
Released Jan 29, 2013
Reviewed by Char

Heartthrob is the seventh studio album for Canadian indie darlings Tegan and Sara. However, iis definitely a departure from their self deprecating indie rock that we are used to. Heartthrob is an in your face pop album with lyrics that cut to the chase. This is intriguing both as a huge Tegan and Sara fan and as a music reviewer. The fan in me is cautious of this new direction, however my critical side is telling me this giant leap is a brilliant move for the Quin twins. “Closer” is a powerhouse dance tune that shows the ladies have definitely learned from their work with big name EDM artists like Tiesto and Morgan Page, and David Guetta, yet the song also has a bit of innocence to it that makes me want to dance around the house with a toothbrush microphone. This album is definitely Sara Quin’s area of expertise and most of my favourite songs were hers. “Goodbye, Goodbye” is an anthemic track while “How Come You Don’t Want Me” is raw and emotional perspective ballad. “All Messed Up” is easily Heartthrob’s crowning power ballad. I literally got chills when Sara belted out her call and answer of “go” and “please stay”.

The Verdict: This is a surprisingly refreshing direction for one of Canada’s beloved bands. It could have bombed, but Tegan and Sara managed to pulled off a synth driven pop album with the help of some great producing by Greg Kurstin and Mike Elizondo. 

Never Had The Time – Portage & Main
Released Jan 22, 2013
Reviewed by Jess

Never Had the Time is a fantastic second album from Vancouver’s own Portage & Main. A great capture of the band’s energy and talent. There is a strong beginning, middle and end, depicting the life and growth of young men maturing throughout the record.“Better Man” is one of the strongest songs, and it makes for a great sing-along. “As A Child” is bittersweet but overall hopeful, full of imagination and adventure. Personally, one of my favourite types of music is sad songs with catchy, up-beat tune: “Lied to Me” is a perfect example of an ‘oh well’ tune with an unapologetic attitude.  The feminine touch in “This Old Heart” balances the masculinity of the record really nicely. Of course, “Sweet Darlin” is the organ-blasting sing along that I can’t wait to play when I depart on my next train ride. “It is You” is another song to tug at the heart-strings. “It is you that makes me whole” is as hopelessly romantic sentiment, a song about settling down in love and life.

Verdict: Never Had the Time is a perfect portrait of the emotions of manhood, both sensitive and rowdy. These BC boys have proven that the can produce just enough twang and harmony to create a classic country-roots record. 

BLack on BLonde – k-os
Released Jan 29, 2013
Reviewed by Alex

k-os was definitely ambitious with BLack on BLonde; a bold 19 songs over 2 CD’s, the first half of which are classic k-os hip-hop and the other half an exploration into the rapper’s ability to play drums and guitar. Opening first with the hip-hop side, most of the songs are the good old k-os jams. Well thought, well crafted hip-hop. “NYCE 2 Know Ya” is easily the album’s big hit potential; it evokes sounds similar to what we already hear on Top 40. Corey Hart and Metric’s Emily Haines are the big guest names here; Haines’ vocals get an interesting treatment: no verse, instead just her saying “I give em’ one time” looped over and over at different pitches while k-os raps over it. On the rock side, k-os shines just as strong. “The Dog Is Mine” has already been eating up alt radio charts, but “Don’t Touch” with Sam Roberts stood out. It evoked so many sounds; Len, Filter, a lot of 90′s rock sound but in a fresh way. Sebastien Grainger from Death From Above 1979 shows up on “Surf’s Up”, a song that uses synth drums and sounds almost like a Metric B-side featuring k-os.

The Verdict: k-os has shown a ton of versatility on BLack on BLonde, and done it well. The album does lack a bit of clear direction but he is to be commended for stretching himself to new musical limits

Tough Mitts EP – Tough Mitts
Released Jan 11, 2013
Reviewed by Alex

Tough Mitts approached me to review their EP as we both share an “affinity for analogue synths”. Often focusing on just one instrument can lead to a lack of variation. Tough Mitts explore many different sides; slower synth jams, more upbeat pop-like music and even hip-hop. The music at times sounds like Crystal Castles with it’s distorted 8-bit blips. The EP is definitely a synth-forward production,but great synth work can’t always cover flaws. Sam Coll’s voice is definitely one that takes getting used to and some may just be put off with it. That being said, the last song on the EP “The Rules” is a standout; dropping his voice an octave comes off well, the song sounding like a collaboration with Kontravoid.

The Verdict: Thought the EP showcases strong musical composition, Tough Mitts could benefit from venturing into vocal distortion and a less polished electronic sound.

It was a night of firsts for me; my first time seeing the talented guys of Portage and Main play live, and my first time at The Biltmore Cabaret. The boys were celebrating the release of their new album Never Had the Time. The venue was packed and ready to dance after fantastic sets by openers Rob Butterfield, and buzzy Vancouver band White Ash Falls.

Just after midnight, Portage and Main hit the stage and started to play behind closed curtains. Only a handful in the audience seemed to notice the between-set music fade out and the live music come in, so when the curtains opened to a band already rocking out, the crowd went wild. The band launched right into “Sweet Darlin’”, getting the crowd singing “Whoa-oh-oh sweet darling!” before playing the title track of the new album.

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Today’s song of the day features one of the most west coast bands I could think of, Portage & Main. These guys just completed their stint with the Peak Performance Project and are playing tonight for Music BC’s Celebration of BC Music at the Vogue Theatre. It sounds like it is going to be a great show with some great bands playing. Other great local events this week are the CBC open house benefitting the BC food bank. Stop by CBC on Hamilton today to meet your favourite CBC personalities and check out what is happening. Make sure to bring a donation to the food bank with you too. It seems like the city is getting into the giving spirit this weekend and supporting our province!

The final Peak Performance Project showcase happened this past Thursday at the Red Room Ultrabar! The PPP is an annual competition where twenty bands “compete” to win the love of both a set of judges and 102.7 The Peak listeners. All the bands attended bootcamp this past August to refine their skills as musicians and are now performing in a showcase series. Four bands play in each showcase which are running for five Thursdays in September and October. You can find exact dates and bands on our Show Listings page or at thepeak.fm. The fifth showcase featured Mike Edel, T. Nile, Dominique Fricot, and Portage and Main.

Mike Edel:

Char: I arrived at the Red Room about midway through Edel’s set. Edel was joined by some familiar Victoria faces, including Colin McTaggert on guitar and Kiana Brasset on violin and backing vocals. His set was a solid effort, but I felt like Edel was coasting until the end of his set. He is incredibly talented, but his songs didn’t have anything that really distinguished Edel from every other indie artist. However his second to last song “Country Where I Come From” was great. The song boosted the energy in the room and the entire band were fully engaged and giving it their all. Overall, I really enjoy Mike Edel’s music, but I feel like he could have given his showcase a bit more oomph.

Jess: Edel’s Canadian Cover Song “Heart of Gold” was one of my favourites of the entire contest! I was thrilled to hear some awesome Neil Young done properly. Thanks, Mike!

T. Nile:

Char: T. Nile’s performance left me somewhat confused with what exactly had happened on the stage. Tamara Nile, and her vintage dressed band, performed  an electro-folk set. Nile is clearly a talented artist, with a great voice, but it felt like she had no clear direction in her music. Some songs were incredibly folky, albeit a little heavier than typical folk, while others had much more electronic undertones going on. I think that T. Nile could be on to something great, but right now their sound is kind of lost between two very different genres. T. Nile did however deliver an excellent rendition of Bryan Adams “Cut’s Like a Knife” in which she was joined by Tough Lover’s guitarist Graham Madden. T. Nile ended with her single “Running” which was clearly the best song in her set, and also had the best balance of electro-folk sounds.

Dominique Fricot:

Char: Local crooner Dominique Fricot took the stage next joined by a host of familiar Vancouver musicians, including PPP 2011 finalist Hilary Grist and Four on the Floor string quartet (minus the lovely Hannah Epperson). Fricot is no stranger to the PPP and previously competed as part of The Painted Birds, but this time is stepping out as a solo artist. I loved how present Fricot was in his set. He has such great charisma and is always very relational with his audience. His songs are catchy, especially “Burn and Start Over” and “Haunted By Love”, in which I think that most females in the audience were swooning. Fricot brought out his surprise guest, Adaline, for his Canadian cover of The Philosopher Kings, “You Don’t Love Me”. It was a solid song and Fricot was the most active on stage during this song with both Adaline and himself coming up to the front of the stage.

Portage & Main:

Jess: The last set of the last night of the Peak Performance showcases was a little heartbreaking, but at least Portage & Main took full advantage of their time on stage. They started off strong and kept building… until their Canadian Cover, Bryan Adam’s “Summer of ’69.” They didn’t do it wrong or anything, just slower than I would have expected (and slower than the rest of their set.) My personal favourite of the set was “I’d Never Climbed A Mountain” but the epic stage-storming song was the boot-stompin’ “Carolina.” The finale was actually kind of felt like watching a montage of the entire PPP so far, since many of the bands jumped up on stage and everyone sang our hearts out like a big, happy family. (Think that sounds cheesy? You should have been there.) It was definitely the most successful stage-storming I’ve seen to date, and I hope it’s documented somewhere since it will go down in PPP history.

One of the challenges in this years Peak Performance Project seems to be to launch a campaign and raise awareness for a charity of the bands’s choice. Their success weighs in on their performance and overall score in the PPP. Given that there are so many events happening, especially this week, we at the VMR wanted to help out and bring light t0 some of the awesome events that you can check out. So after reading through what is happening, please choose your favourite bands and/or charities and go support a good cause while listening to some awesome music!

Portage & Main hockey card created for their Cup for Kids by Christine McAvoy

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One of the bands in this year’s Peak Performance Project is folk-rock band Portage and Main.
They competed last year in Shore 104.3′s SongSearch with “What Have I Done”.
The band were part of Tracks on Tracks and played NXNE in Toronto last week. Tonight they play at Fortune Sound Club with Maurice and Jon & Roy.

Last week was the official launch of Tracks on Tracks, the rock n’ rail adventure across Canada. Tracks on Tracks is a collaboration project between Green Couch Productions, CBC Radio 3, and Via Rail in which several Canadian musicians will be joining the Green Couch team and CBC Radio 3 on a musical journey to NXNE in Toronto. The launch party featured some of our favourite Vancouver acts, The Matinee, Good for Grapes, and Portage and Main, as well as a dj set by Topless Gay Love Tekno Party.

Starting out the evening was The Matinee performing a stripped down set that featured only Matt Layzell, Matt Rose, and Geoff Petrie on stools. They started off with “L’Absynthe” which was accompanied by Layzell’s account of their trip to Montreal that inspired the song. They also threw in some new content that sounded great, especially in the intimite environment. My highlight of their set was “The Greenhill Park”. I am really excited that the Matinee will be going on the train because there are sure to be some great stories for them to turn into song during the trip.

Good for Grapes was up next. It was my first time seeing them, although I have heard much about them in the past six months. I must say, this band was one of the most energetic bands I have ever seen. Especially their incredibly tall accordion player who was all over the place. Although these guys are young they are full of potential and I really enjoyed the on stage party atmosphere that they brought with them.

Finally rounding out the set was Portage and Main. These guys have wowed me every time I have seen them live, and tonight was no different. Harold Donnely and John Sponarski make a great team and also have rounded out their sound with a fantastic band. The highlight of the set were “Rocky Mountain Wanderer” which I thought captured the energy of the band really well. I am really excited that they will be joining Green Couch on the train.

Overall it was a great start to an awesome project. I am starting to get jealous that I will be unable to come on the train because the phenomenal mix of artists that will be going across the country would be a blast to be with. Also if you haven’t checked out the IndieGoGo page, please consider helping Green Couch finance the project. There are also some pretty neat incentives to do so including some great looking t-shirts.

Tracks on Tracks is a collaboration project between Green Couch Productions, CBC Radio 3, and Via Rail in which several Canadian musicians will be joining the Green Couch team and CBC Radio 3 on a musical journey to NXNE in Toronto. Green Couch has hand selected Adaline, The Belle Game, The Matinee, Portage and Main, Topless Gay Love Tekno Party, and Maurice to join them on the train. The final bands have been left for CBC Radio 3 listeners to choose who else will be boarding the train this summer.

Although the train doesn’t depart until June, the official launch party for the project is tomorrow at the Electric Owl. The Matinee, Portage and Main, and Good for Grapes will be playing. There will also be limited edition Tracks on Tracks shirts available for purchase. Tickets are $10 at the door.

Finally, if you are interested in supporting Tracks on Tracks financially head on over to their Indiegogo page to help them fund this epic project!

Vancouver artists Portage & Main and Redbird kicked off their cross Canada tour this past weekend on their way to Canadian Music Week in Toronto with a hell of a goodbye party at The Media Club!

Opening up the evening was the hippie-esque Twin River who reminded me of a bygone era with their alt-country sound that was surprisingly good for what seemed to be quite a new band. Although nothing of theirs was incredibly memorable, they still seem like a band with a lot of potential for future growth.

Redbird was up next headed by the beautiful Savannah Leigh Wellman and backed by some familiar faces. Ben Appenheimer joined her on bass as well as Graham Serl from Japanese Girls and John Sponarski who doubles in Portage & Main. The onstage banter between Wellman and Sponarski was fantastic and Redbird played a few new songs including their new single The Tower. My favourite song of the evening was “In the Hands of Ghosts” which has a dreamy feel to it. Overall I really liked Redbird’s sound and their set left me wanting to become more acquainted with their music.

Closing out the evening was Portage & Main comprised of Sponarski and Harold Donnely splitting time on lead vocals and guitar. They were accompanied once again by Appenheimer and Serl and Georges Couling on keys. I absolutely love Portage & Main’s energy on stage which seemed to bring their music to life. I almost felt like I was trekking through the wilderness when they launched into “Rocky Mountain Wanderer” in which Wellman joined them on stage for backing vocals. They closed off their set with a sing-along of “Carolina” from which they were joined on stage by some friends, and eventually the majority of the front row.

All the bands that played did a fantastic job and put on a really great show, but what surprised me the most was how awesome the crowd was as well. There seemed to be a lot of love for these two Vancouver bands. The combined energy of both the audience and bands created one hell of a tour launch party. We hope you guys have a blast and enjoy CMW!