16 <strong>Sled</strong> <strong>Island</strong> <strong>2016</strong>
— MUSIC ADAM STRANGLER MONTREAL, QC Fri 5:30pm - Broken City Sat 1:30pm - Local 510 (Parking Lot) Romance isn’t dead. It’s hiding between Adam Strangler’s percussion and bassline mosaic, which calls to mind a run through Montreal’s back alleys at night. Singer and guitarist Philip Lavoie says he trips out on symbolism and the unsaid, where new wave, Britpop and psych come together in a fuzzy cocktail. ADOLYNE SASKATOON, SK Fri 5:00pm - Tub<strong>by</strong> Dog Sat 8:30pm - Palomino (Upstairs) This four-piece transmitter of Canadian noise-metal redefines doom and gloom with distorted vocals and harsh noise-rock riffs. Adolyne’s sounds are atonal, filled with loud and intense howls from vocalist Skot Hamilton, but not without the occasional piano melody. ADVANCES CALGARY, AB Fri 9:30pm - Bamboo Advances celebrate many forms of dance music that have existed through the ages, producing some richly simplistic and trés, trés sexy R&B magic. This mini super crew will have you instantly shaking your butt to their dreamy, disco-inspired house jams. ADVERTISEMENT LETHBRIDGE, AB Sat 11:30pm - Ship & Anchor Returning to <strong>Sled</strong> <strong>Island</strong> with a helluva snarl and whole lotta attitude is power trio Advertisement. Ironic in name, straight-up in sound, their take on punk is a relatively simple one: yell what you feel, back it up with riffs and hit ‘em hard with bass and drums. Advertisement make pissed off rock ‘n’ roll that sounds like hell. ALEEM KHAN CALGARY, AB Thu 8:00pm - Theatre Junction GRAND Formerly of Shaani Cage, Aleem Khan has released a dizzying quantity of music in an array of styles in the past year. He’s performing as part of a seven-piece ensemble at <strong>Sled</strong> <strong>Island</strong>, bringing to life a lush new set of jazz-inflected compositions. ANAMAI TORONTO, ON Fri 7:00pm - Central United Church Sat 1:00pm - Tub<strong>by</strong> Dog The haunting hymns of ANAMAI could fit in the halls of worship of an alternate universe. They preach merciless honesty on soothing compositions of folk, ambient and drone anointed with electronic elements, creating new sounds out of timeless ideas. AN ANT AND AN ATOM LETHBRIDGE, AB Sat 9:00pm - Bamboo Nebulous electronic elements and samples are enveloped in lush layers of throbbing synthesizers, then dismantled into small, chaotic fragments that skip about like ants and bounce like atoms. There can be bright pops of string sounds one moment and slow motion buzzsaw distortion the next. It’s all fair game for An Ant And An Atom. ANCIENT SNAKE CALGARY, AB Wed 9:00pm - Wine-Ohs Ancient Snake constructs ominous soundscapes rife with brooding intensity in the absence of rhythm, like the dark hum of a sleeping city—a mystery of cacophonous, wordless cataclysm. Unbound <strong>by</strong> structure, Ancient Snake creates as much a feeling as a sound, a chaotic abstraction of percussion, synth and saxophone. ANION VANCOUVER, BC Fri 5:00pm - Bamboo Anion make heavy tunes with plenty of grit and cues from many corners of extreme music. A little bit of noise rock, a heaping helping of hardcore and a slimy layer of sludge grease are all in the abrasive mix. Their May release, Fractions of Failure, is yet another step into the mire, and we can’t wait to see what it looks like on stage. AQUARIUS VICTORIA, BC Wed 8:30pm - Local 510 Like a voice of ghostly desire carried across an ocean, Aquarius’ music feels distant but far-reaching. Influenced <strong>by</strong> French cold wave, the duo’s minimalist dark pop settles around you like a menacing fog while their unsettling vocals send a chill up your spine. MUSIC ASTRAKHAN VANCOUVER, BC Sat 10:00pm - Palomino (Downstairs) Astrakhan painstakingly construct their epic songs <strong>by</strong> building tight riff upon tight riff. Plowing forward to create detail-soaked arrangements tipping into ‘80s and ‘90s classic heavy metal, they touch on stoner metal, doom and even some psych along the way. The two vocalists wail at and with one another, pulling at brawny guitars and heavy drums with firm execution. Their latest album also features killer trippy artwork to boot. ASTRAL GUNK MONTREAL, QC Fri 2:00pm - Sloth Records Fri 7:00pm - Broken City (Patio) Riding the gnar wave direct from Sackville, Astral Gunk’s brand of skuzzy, gunked-out garage rock brims with straight-up James Dean ‘tude and scattershot guitar freakouts. Add to the mix some heavy, lose-control ‘60s-psych, ear-blasting megaphone-y howls and cook in the oven. This is the recipe for a wild, hip-shaking good time. ASTRAL SWANS CALGARY, AB Wed 7:00pm - Central United Church If you made a Venn Diagram for sardonic, minimal, earnest bedroom indie-rock, right smack dab in the middle you’d find this collection of poppy, witty gems. You can hear a smile work its way across Astral Swans’ face if you listen carefully. AVEC LE SOLEIL SORTANT DE SA BOUCHE MONTREAL, QC Wed 11:00pm - Palomino (Downstairs) Cranking out relentlessly danceable guitar experimentations with a heavy Afrobeat influence, these veteran indie rockers are festival favourites. Their extended, mostly instrumental jams are designed to bring people together across cultural and genre divides. This cosmopolitan quartet lights up the dancefloor with the sun shining out of their mouths—and their amps. THE AVULSIONS SASKATOON, SK Thu 9:30pm - Palomino (Upstairs) Sat 8:00pm - Local 510 (Parking Lot) Nihilistic goth-pop act The Avulsions are the regenerated version of their former selves, Phalec Baldwin—no word on whether that’s a result of a cease and desist from the elder Baldwin. This trio of macabre melody-makers like their darkness in echoing, atmospheric guitars and despondent vocals. The end is nigh, and disillusionment never sounded better. THE BACKHOMES VICTORIA, BC Fri 11:00pm - Palomino (Upstairs) Sat 6:00pm - Local 510 (Parking Lot) Over the course of just two albums, The Backhomes have mastered the act of making deliriously dreamy psych-pop with Krautrock-like propulsion and gauzy, washed-out atmosphere. The last year has seen the duo wowing audiences all over North America in support of their latest full-length, TIDALWAVE. <strong>Sled</strong> <strong>Island</strong> <strong>2016</strong> 17