BeatRoute Magazine B.C. print e-edition - December 2016

December 2016 1

December 2016

december ‘16
PUBLISHER
BeatRoute Magazine
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
& PRODUCTION MANAGER
Syd Danger
syddanger.com
WEB PRODUCER
Shane Flug
COPY EDITOR
Thomas Coles
FRONT COVER ILLUSTRATION
Victoria Sieczka / badbloodclub
DISTRIBUTION
Gold Distribution
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Erin Jardine ∙ Prachi Kamble ∙ Karolina Kapusta
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Glenn Alderson ∙ glenn@beatroute.ca
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Glenn Alderson
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Graeme Wiggins
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04
05
06
11
13
∙ with Peter and Chris
HENRY ROLLINS
19
23
∙ 12 Beers of Christmas ∙ Creeps
09
27
10 ∙ Darcy Michael
12
∙ Top 25 Local Albums
∙ Editor’s Picks Of The Year
16
∙ Neurosis ∙ Protest The Hero
∙ Diecember Fest ∙ Zuckuss
∙ Porter Robinson ∙ Cover: Zed’s Dead
∙ Contact Winter Festival ∙ Aesop Rock
∙ Machinedrum
20
∙ Best of 2016: Top Films of the Year
∙ Foliosa ∙ Rebel Soup ∙ Keithmas VII
∙ The American
28
∙ Queen Of The Month
∙ From The Desk Of Carlotta
∙ Give Em Oral
31
∙ The Weeknd ∙ Beach Season ∙ DIANA
∙ Drive By Truckers ∙ Meek Mill
∙ Thee Oh Sees ∙ Young Mammals
37
∙ PUP ∙ YG
38
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©BEATROUTE Magazine 2016. All rights reserved.
Reproduction of the contents is strictly prohibited.
December 2016 3

WITH PETER N’ CHRIS
JENNIE ORTON
No matter your holiday tradition, there is likely
a moment when you encounter, either very on
purpose or by contact high, an adaptation of
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. The timeless
tale of regret and redemption rings true for many
people as they take stock at the end of the year and
prepare for the soul-sucking onslaught of many days
of family. So it is fitting as 2016—one of the most
world-renowned, record-breaking, sucking chest
wound years of recent memory—comes to a close
that we seek a lighter-hearted version of the tale to
bring us gasping across the finish line of these gritty
and despicable 12 months. Enter A Peter n’ Chris
Christmas Carol, a cheeky twist brought to you by
Fringe Festival stars and Canadian Comedy Award
winning scamps Peter Carlone and Chris Wilson.
We watch as Chris, absent of Christmas cheer, is
visited by those familiar ghosts on Christmas Eve
with hilarious results. We spoke to Peter Carlone
about their take on the story and why the themes
are intrinsically part of our holiday traditions.
BeateRoute: So why is Chris bah humbugging?
Peter Carlone: Well we wanna spoof stuff that we
love. Spoof it in a way that honors it. So a part of
that is we kind of want to still tell that classic story,
but we were thinking like what is it that makes him
grumpy? Like is he just a grumpy old guy and it’s the
classic Christmas story all the way and we find spoof
in that, or is it some sort of sillier comedic reason? The
one we are working on right now is part of the reveal
in the plot so….I don’t know if I should tell BeatRoute
how it turns out in the final scene!
BR: What do you think it is about this story that
is so universal that it has stood the test of time?
PC: It’s funny you say that, I was just talking to
someone about that. What I think I have come up
with is that, have you ever heard this theory? That
there are like five stories or only seven stories that
we are all telling over and over again in different
ways?
BR: The literary bugaboo.
PC: Yeah. (laughs) Is it ok if I call it that from now
on? So I wouldn’t say that the actual plot of the
Dickens story is one of those plots but that the
way it’s being told must touch on one of them. You
know, that someone is fundamentally not happy
with something and, with some help, figures out
that the main reason he is unhappy is himself.
BR: Well I’m a sucker for the story and love seeing
other adaptations of it.
PC: Well I don’t want to shoot myself in the
foot but I would say ours will be one of the more
“unfaithful” adaptations. Cause we’re not just
gonna DO it again, y’know? We’re not gonna just
do the story. We’ll hit the major beats of it but like
in a totally different way. Like right now our Jacob
Marley ghost is a person who is a ghost but he’s
more of a corporate ghost. He’s sent from “Ghost
Corporate,” because cheering people up around the
holidays has become such a huge industry that you
can’t just send your best buddy to do it. There’s a
whole training process, you have to be vetted to be
a helper ghost…
BR: This time of year does tend to make people
very reflective, which is why this story resonates
with so many people. What happens to YOU
during the Christmas season?
PC: That’s interesting…Where do you wanna go
with that? How real do you want to dive? (laughs)
BR: I’ll leave that up to you.
PC: ‘Cause the thing is, and I think this is why Chris
and I make comedies the way we make comedies,
is cause things can get really heavy around these
times and I think there is just a lot of power and a
lot of fun to be had from making jokes and making
a good piece of comedy that everybody can get on
board with and doesn’t necessarily try to divide you
into groups.
BR: If you had access to the ghost of Christmas
past, what is something you would definitely want
to go see?
PC: Oh wow, that’s a big one. I feel a lot of pressure
to say something awesome. You know what would
be kind of cool is to go back to see the moon landing
and feel the energy of the crowd.
BR: But not mess around, just still let it happen
but just observe it?
PC: Oh yeah not mess around…OR if I was gonna
mess around I would go a couple years back and see
what we can do about this whole Trump sitch. Just
be like “GUYS! It happened, it’s not a joke!” I feel like I
could write a whole book about the things I would like
to go back in time and enjoy. You know what I mean?
Like: “just enjoy yourself, geez!” Like University. “Just
chill. You don’t have to freak out EVERY DAY. Just like
freak out once a week or something, holy crap.”
BR: You’ll live.
PC: Yeah you’re GONNA live. It won’t have
mattered. (laughs)
Catch A Peter n’ Chris-tmas Carol at Performance
Works, 8:00 pm December 9 and 10.
4
December 2016

HENRY ROLLINS
past that, there is no past that
KYLE HARCOTT
Henry Rollins: world traveler, actor,
author, radio and television host, and
elder punk statesman as former singer
to the mighty Rollins Band and Black Flag
is back on the road this winter bringing his
spoken-word across North America, with
more than 80 dates lined up.
Fans can expect Rollins to mix
his always-timely commentary on
the current state of politics—with
anecdotes on his latest L.A. experiences,
to perspective gained from his extensive
world travels. “Rollins is many things,”
says the Washington Post, “diatribist,
confessor, provocateur, humorist,
even motivational speaker…his is an
enthusiastic and engaging chatter.”
Since his last U.S. spoken word
tour in 2012, Rollins has been busy
to say the least. The epitome of
a workaholic, Rollins has starred
in films like He Never Died and
Gutterdammerung, he’s done voiceover
work, written new books
like A Grim Detail, continued to
contribute a column at LA Weekly,
hosted on television (National
Geographic, History Channel, IFC),
continued to deejay a radio show on
KCRW, and yet still finds time to tour
as a spoken word performer–having
performed countless shows around the
world over the last 35 years.
We were able catch up with
Rollins briefly (c’mon, who else moves
that fast?) to get a few answers about
some stuff that had been bugging us,
and hopefully, bugging him.
BeatRoute: What are you most
pissed-off about these days, and what
can we expect from your upcoming
spoken tour?
Henry Rollins: What bugs me at
this very moment is the amount of
people who didn’t vote in the last
election in America. A lot of people
are complaining but I don’t know how
many actually voted.
BR: What are some of the bands
that are an active concern right now,
in your opinion, who not only bring
the heat with music and talent, but
also seem to understand the current
climate of the music industry, and are
doing great things?
HR: There are a lot of bands I like very
much. Bands like Thee Oh Sees, The
Julie Ruin, Point Juncture WA, Ty Segall,
Ausmuteants, Lowtide, Terry, Crystal
Fairy, etc. that I think are fantastic. I think
there are at least two music industries.
There is the one that has all the Beyoncés
of the world, which is a dull, corporate
roar, and then there is the very exciting
independent music industry. The latter
has never been better.
BR: As someone who was in a
band that broke their backs whiteknuckling
it on the road to try and
get by, what’s your opinion on bands
going the route of crowdfunding with
subscription sources like Patreon as
a means of attempting to make a
living playing music?
HR: I think different times and
situations make for different
methods. It’s nothing I would do
but I’m not interested in telling
someone how to make their
records. It may very well be one
of the better ideas. If you want
direct-to-the-fans, that’s how to do
it. I think it’s a completely valid way to
go about it.
BR: America has a new president. You were
there when Reagan was elected, and American
hardcore exploded in fury. Do you foresee
this happening again in the Trump era?
HR: I don’t but I think there will be
some great benefit concerts to push
back against what might be a challenging
time for LGBT folks, women, nonwhites,
Muslims, etc. I’m looking forward to
getting busy on all that.
BR: You’re friends with Tim Friede,
the venom man. Weren’t you guys
working on a TV show together about
his antivenom processing?
HR: I met him when I was part of a National
Geographic thing that featured him.
Amazing guy.
BR: For that matter, when was
the first time you remember your
fascination with snakes taking off?
HR: I was 11. Snake keeping is a very
time consuming task. I would do it if
I had the time but I don’t any more. I
live all over the world and that doesn’t
make for good upkeep.
BR: As a champion of the Stooges
for a long time, what was your take
on the new documentary, and what’s
with the kids picking Raw Power over
Fun House these days?
HR: I think anything that brings
people to the Stooges is a great
thing. I think Raw Power is a ver y
approachable album compared to
Fun House, which is my personal
favorite. Fun House is more
conceptual, Raw Power is more straight
ahead rock. Hopefully, someone who
Ever an enigma, Henry Rollins is once again taking his thoughts on the road in
a politically charged landscape following the US election.
becomes curious will check out ALL the
Stooges material.
BR: I was so excited to hear your vocals
again on the new Ruts DC track. What
are the chances of there ever being a
Rollins solo album?
HR: Hopefully none. For me, music was
a time/place thing. It was an age related
endeavor. I gave all when I had something
to give and then moved on. I can see
doing something like I did on the Ruts DC
record. They asked me, I said sure but past
that, there is no past that.
Henry Rollins performs at the Vogue
Theatre on January 4.
December 2016 MUSIC
5

HALF MOON RUN
Montreal band reflect on inspiration, pressure and mojo
SAVANNAH LEIGH WELLMAN
Half Moon Run seem to have “it” – call it
destiny, luck, or perhaps mojo (the term
used by Plants and Animals to describe
their soon-to-be tourmates). But with
just their first album they accomplished
the kind of career landmarks that most
indie bands can only dream of. The
group’s very formation could be seen as
an act of fate, when Connor Molander
and Dylan Phillips found singer Devon
Portielje via a Craigslist add looking
for musicians. From there, their debut
album Dark Eyes went gold in Canada,
and the band found themselves playing
international stages with the likes of
Mumford & Sons. But they’re careful not
to subscribe to any ideas of grandeur,
and even get a little uncomfortable
at the idea. “I feel extremely lucky,
but when the time comes where
you’re reflecting on those things, it’s a
dangerous mental territory to get into.
Pride comes before the fall – I’m weary
of thinking about how great anything is
going,” Molander shares from his home
in Montreal.
After any successful first album,
there is always the looming question
– will they be able to follow it up?
Expectations from fans and critics can
put a lot of pressure on the creative
process, but the group decided to
turn inwards and use it to their
advantage. “Internally is where the most
meaningful pressure came from – all
we can do is try to do our best, and you
can’t bother with what anybody else
is going to think about it. And I think
that internal pressure is a good thing,
it keeps you from getting complacent
– even to the extent of conjuring it up
when I don’t feel it, because it’s such a
great motivator.”
Even with that kind of drive,
when it came time to focus on writing
their follow up album, the foursome
(now joined by Isaac Symonds) found
themselves at a bit of a creative
stalemate being at home. “We had all
this free time in Montreal to write the
new record, and we needed to light a
fire under our own asses, so we basically
just got in the van and tried to make
an adventure out of it. We needed a
spark, and it worked wonderfully - that’s
when we really hit our stride.” The final
Half Moon Run harvested the warmth of California to power their new record, Sun Leads Me On.
destination was California, where the
band was able to mix work and leisure
in a setting that inspired much of the
music on the album. Even the title, Sun
Leads Me On, is a nod to that journey,
chasing the sunset as they drove west.
The sunshine seemed to have an effect
on the tone of the album too – there
are more moments of optimism and
pleasure than on the mostly melancholic
Dark Eyes. You can almost hear echos
of the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds era in
singer Portielje’s falsetto, or in the
opening track “Warmest Regards,” a
pleasant reflection featuring acoustic
guitars and flutes. But the band hasn’t
strayed from the percussive intensity
and vocal harmonies that have become
their signature sound – they’ve simply
built on it, going deeper into the darker
depths, and the delicately optimistic
ones as well.
Their upcoming Canadian tour
takes place in theatres, something
Molander is looking forward to. “It
allows you more ebb and flow within
PLANTS AND ANIMALS
turns out slow brewing brings out flavours you never knew were there
Photo by Jennifer McCord
a set, you can really bring things down
to an intimate moment.” The band has
some surprises planned for this time
out, in Vancouver specifically, to take
advantage of the acoustic opportunities
theatre venues provide. And as the
band continues to build a career that
has already taught them a heck of a lot
about putting on a good show – you can
be sure there will be some magic.
Half Moon Run performs at the
Orpheum Theatre December 16.
Back to the basics, Plants and Animals are happy again after letting their creative juices recharge.
SAVANNAH LEIGH WELLMAN
Plants and Animals emerged from the
Montreal scene at the height of its indie
band frenzy – the success of bands like
Arcade Fire was shining an international
spotlight on the culture-rich bilingual
city, and at the time you’d be hardpressed
to find a hip 20-something that
wasn’t in a band. But this three piece
was no passing trend – the release of
their first full length album Parc Avenue
earned them both Polaris and JUNO
award nominations in 2008. 2010 saw
the release of the raucous La La Land,
followed by the slightly mellowed out
The End of That in 2012, cumulating in
over six years of constant hustle (write,
record, tour, repeat). When the cycle
wound down, they all agreed it was time
to take a breath. “We had a cumulative
burnout,” says drummer Matthew
“Woody” Woodley. “We needed to slow
down to let our creative juices flow. We
needed to play with other people, and
have the luxury of time for reflection
on the songs we were working on. We
all had kids in the time we were off, so
being able to be more domestic was
welcomed, we were all into it.”
Giving themselves the freedom
to create unhinged by a tight deadline
allowed the group to really let creative
ideas foster, something they hadn’t been
able to do since their first album. “We
wrote in the studio, which sometimes
seemed backwards, building music off
of one little moment or idea, as opposed
to going in with a song already finished.
Sometimes the best stuff is the most
intuitive stuff, and not necessarily the
most fleshed out and laboured over.”
This kind of improvised approach
was even applied to lyrics at times,
where singer Warren Spicer would
fill in unwritten lines with gibberish
or random thoughts, that would
sometimes stick and inspire the rest
of the words. The result at times feels
mystical - lush cinematic landscapes
that bring a sense of nostalgia, not in
that they sound familiar, but that they
bring an unnamed emotion almost
out from behind a memory, one you
want to feel again but you’re not sure
why, or exactly where it came from. It’s
a beautiful collection of carefully
crafted musical ideas, that still
maintains the loose experimental
feel the band is known for.
While the creative process might
have harkened back to their original
days as a band, the influences didn’t. “I
think for a long time a lot our influences
were from the golden era of rock ‘n roll,
and we drained whatever was in that
well for us. It came up consciously a
bunch of times, let’s not make an album
that sounds like the ‘70s, let’s make
something that sounds contemporary.
We started getting inspired by other
things, and listening to a lot more
contemporary music.”
Woodley lists some hip-hop
references, and while they may not
be directly audible influences in the
music itself, it’s the production and
the experimentation with sounds that
the band was interested in. And they’re
happy with the results – for the first
time in a while, it turns out. “We all
really like this record, more than the
past two. In hindsight when we talk
about them, there’s some good stuff but
we’re not completely satisfied. We’re a
three headed beast, so we’re trying to
keep everybody happy at the same time.
You have to make compromises because
of that, and sometimes when you look
back you think ‘I wish I’d spoken up
about that’. Part of the reason we took
so long with this record is we wanted to
be happy with it – and I still am.”
Plants and Animals perform at the
Orpheum Theatre on December 16.
MUSIC
December 2016

December 2016 7

8
December 2016

BRASSTRONAUT
an amorphous sonic entity for a plugged-in world
Photo by Katrin Braga
BRAYDEN TURENNE
Amongst the buzzing music scene here
in Vancouver, six-piece sonic scientists
Brasstronaut stand out among the
crowd. Having just recently released
their third, self-titled LP, Brasstronaut
continue in their exploration of music
that spans whole genres. “When
there’s six people each bringing their
own tastes and backgrounds… it
becomes amorphous,” states the
band’s guitarist, Tariq Hussain, when
asked about the band’s sound, which
is one that is hard to define and that
revels in the openness of the medium.
“We don’t really identify with any
particular scene,” mentions Hussain,
and perhaps that is why the band has
found an international audience and
have been able to branch out and tour
both North America and Europe.
We live in an age of mass
consumption, “Where the trends
almost don’t even matter. Everyone’s
doing everything all of the time, and
it’s available all of the time,” so there
is a danger for things, whether it be
music or movies, to become formulaic
and stale pretty quickly. Speaking
about his part mixing the album,
keyboard/vocalist, Edo Van Breeman
makes it clear that “[he] didn’t have a
formula for it…[the songs] were mixed
however they felt they should be
processed. We don’t really put a lot of
rules on how the whole thing should
end up.”
Elements of everything from jazz,
rock, folk and even some electronic
ambience can be heard in this latest
LP, which really emphasises the idea
of musical fusion. Not as much in
their sound but in their willingness to
experiment do Brasstronaut harken
back to the prog rock bands of the
1970s—bands like Genesis, Yes, and
King Crimson, who each dabbled in far
reaching regions of music inspiration.
Some bands prefer to record
more than play live, if they play live
at all, but to the guys in Brasstronaut,
the live element of the band is critical
to what makes the whole thing
special. “I think if I didn’t have those
opportunities, it wouldn’t be worth
it,” says Van Breeman. “[Sometimes]
we’re not getting paid barely anything,
but the nice thing is that we’re getting
to play our music for thousands
of people, and that’s amazing. You
can’t put a price tag on that kind of
experience. That’s why I did this, is to
play those types of shows.”
Brasstronaut celebrate musical fusion on the release of their third and long-awaited LP.
Not to sound preachy, but in today’s
tech saturated world, where everything is at
the touch of a button, it is easy to become
isolated. Despite this, though, the live music
concert is one of the enduring traditions in
our culture that promotes a communal
experience. “To bring people together
in a show space, you’re basically acting
as a church situation or a spiritual
sanctuary for people. An important
thing in the dystopian world we live
in, to get people together and enjoy
something,” Van Breeman adds.
Check out Brasstronaut’s new album
and if they happen to be playing a
show near you, definitely go check
them out!
The Railtown Sessions give local talent a chance to peacock like they always wanted to.
RAILTOWN SESSIONS
Light Organ Records open the talent stable and let it run amok
HEATHER ADAMSON
Over the past four months BeatRoute
has been premiering a four-volume
EP series from Light Organ Records
entitled The Railtown Sessions.
Featuring four distinct singer
songwriters based out of Vancouver,
the series has highlighted a selection
of the city’s deep rooted talent and
helped to shine light on particular
artists who have varied careers as
working musicians. Vancouver’s
Andy Bishop (Twin River/White Ash
Falls) was the visionary behind the
project, handpicking the artists who
worked with a team including Bishop
as producer and Colin Stewart as
recording/mixing engineer to record
at Light Organ Records Studio.
“Our plans were very clear before
beginning the project,” shares Bishop.
“The vision and outcome essentially
remained the same. It was one of
those special recordings that came
together very easily while still allowing
full creativity. We never felt rushed or
short on time. It was very magical.”
Sarah Jane Scouten, Rob
Butterfield, Johnny 99, and Debra-
Jean Creelman each recorded
four songs that were released as
individual four-track EP albums.
All four songwriters are roots
artists at their core, with Scouten’s
traditional elements, Butterfield’s
retro-rock, Johnny 99’s country
flare, and Creelman’s ethereal
psychedelia, the Railtown Sessions
deliver a series aimed to wet any
music lover’s appetite.
Each artist performed an
exclusive live set at Light Organ’s
studio to premiere their respective
release. To culminate the
conclusion of the series, all four
artists will be performing together
in an end-of-year show at the Fox
Cabaret on December 9. “We’re
going to pretty much rip off The
Band’s Last Waltz by having the
band remain on stage while the
artists switch out,” shares Bishop
enthusiastically. “We are still
working on a few ‘special things’
that will be unveiled the night
of the show.” No doubt it is sure
to be an unforgettable night of
music culminating a unique project
honouring the heart of Vancouver’s
music scene. “This was easily one
of the most productive and fun
recording sessions I’ve had the
privilege of working on,” Bishop
reflects. “It was just a really great
hang that could have never ended.”
The Railtown Sessions first
edition of all four unique recordings
are available now exclusively
through Light Organ Records both
digitally and on limited release vinyl
at www.lightorganrecords.com/store.
Thanks to the successfully executed
format, The Railtown Sessions are set
to continue with a second edition
that is currently in the works to start
recording in January.
Railtown Sessions comes alive
December 9 at the Fox Cabaret.
December 2016 MUSIC
9

LIVE AT THE WISE * DECEMBER EVENTS SCHEDULE 2016
SAT
DEC
3
MON
DEC
5
THU
DEC
8
MON
DEC
12
FRI
DEC
16
SAT
DEC
17
THU
DEC
22
MON
DEC
26
ODDFELLOWS MARKET 10AM-4PM
WPW (WISE PRO WRESTLING) PRESENTS
CHRISTMAS CHAOS
PETUNIA & THE VIPERS
MONDAYS IN THE LOUNGE
RUBY’S UKES CONCERT
6:30 TO 10:30 IN THE HALL
PETUNIA & THE VIPERS
MONDAYS IN THE LOUNGE
TOM HOLLISTON & FORD PIER
LIVING MADE EASY
LIVE IN THE WISE LOUNGE
2016 HUNKERDOWN
XMAS SHOWDOWN!
VANCOUVER FILM COMMUNITY MUSIC EVENT
BLANCHE NORTON FUNDRAISER:
THE MYRTLE FAMILY BAND
PETUNIA & THE VIPERS
BIG TOP • BLACK GARDENIA
GEOFF BERNER • AL MADER
PETUNIA & THE VIPERS
MONDAYS IN THE LOUNGE
SUN
DEC
4
THU
DEC
8
SAT
DEC
10
THU
DEC
15
FRI
DEC
16
MON
DEC
19
FRI
DEC
23
SAT
DEC
31
ODDFELLOWS MARKET
10:00AM-4:00PM
R.D. CANE ART EXHIBIT IN THE LOUNGE
OPENING NIGHT
TABOO REVUE
BURLESQUE IN THE HALL 8PM
BENEFIT FOR
SCOTT VANDELOO
HOLIDAY HUSTLE!
BEATROUTE’S CHRISTMAS PARTY:
NO SINNER+LOUISE BURNS+THE TANGLERS
+LEISURE CLUB+DJ SET by MESA LUNA
PETUNIA & THE VIPERS
MONDAYS IN THE LOUNGE
WISE HALL FLEA
NIGHT MARKET 8:00PM
NO B.S. NEW YEAR’S EVE
PIZZA PARTY!
THE DEVIL IN THE WOOD SHACK
GOLD STARS ARE FOR SUCKERS
RAMBONE & THE WET REALITY
THE GODSPOT • DADWEED
TUESDAYS IN THE HALL 7PM (DEC. 6, 13, 20) THE IMPROMPTU ROCK CHOIR
WEDNESDAYS IN THE HALL 6:30-10:30 (DEC. 14+21) METRO VANCOUVER KINK WORKSHOPS
DECEMBER’S FEATURED WISE LOUNGE VISUAL ARTIST IS R.D. CANE
WISE HALL
1882 ADANAC STREET
(AT VICTORIA DRIVE)
WWW.WISEHALL.CA
LEE FIELDS &
THE EXPRESSIONS
tightening up the fabric of mankind with some true depth of soul
GALEN ROBINSON-EXO
It was a Friday evening and Lee Fields
was preparing for a performance in
Newark, New Jersey. It was the last show
before he flew out to Japan to perform
there for the first time. When he
answered the phone, I thanked him for
taking the time to speak with us. “Well,”
he said simply, “It was the right thing to
do.” This sense of propriety was present
throughout our conversation.
The 65 year old singer recorded
his first single in 1969, and has released
albums on thirteen different record
labels since then. A visit to his current
record company’s website reveals that he
and The Expressions, his backing band,
are playing practically every night in
the next few months, in cities spanning
from Japan to Germany to California.
Music seems to be a lifelong and
constant pursuit in Fields’ life, and
this dedication is reflected in both his
music and the way he talks about it.
When asked about what he sees
as the message of his work, he says
without hesitation, “Love. Love and
togetherness, because in order for
two people, or a group of people, or
a nation of people to survive, we have
to care about each other.” Fields and
the Expressions’ latest album, Special
Night embodies this sentiment, with
earnest, straightforward lyrics about
making the world a better place and
loving the one you’re with. “My songs
are simple, to the point, and about
something,” Fields says. “Something
that’s going to make someone’s
day.” He says he is very careful to craft
songs that will stand the test of time,
and that he feels people will relate to:
“I try to say something that’s making
some sense, something that people
can feel.”
Positivity is a crucial feature of
Fields’ music. He strives to write songs
that leave his listeners with a sense
of hope, and he crafts his music in a
manner that is very cognizant of the
power of words. In his analysis, “A song is
like a house, and words are just materials
for building a song. If you choose bad
mortar or bad wood, that house is not
going to stand for long, and the same is
true of music…The mind has to absorb
quality, good sound and information in
order for it to be healthy, and that’s why I
take a lot of time to write my songs.” He
seems to take a great deal of pride that
the goal of his music is to uplift people,
and contrasts it against music that, in
his mind, has promoted criminality and
violence in the black community.
For Fields, music is about
connecting with people, and giving his
fans avenues by which to connect to one
another. In the past year, he says, two
couples have gotten engaged onstage
during his performance: “I would like
to believe that I had something to do
with two people finding each other, and
experiencing real love.” It is also a crucial
part of his spirituality; when asked what
soul music means to him, Fields muses,
“the body is like a machine, that carries
the spirit around for whatever given
time we have here on earth. But in the
final analysis, everyone is going to have to
give up the body… so to me, soul music
means that the soul is of the spirit, and the
spirit is of God.”
In a world so rife with cynicism, the
success of musicians like Lee Fields is
a testament to a renewed desire for
music imbued with an earnest desire
to spread love.
Lee Fields & The Expressions perform at
the Imperial on December 7.
Photo by Sesse Lind
For Lee Fields hope seems to spring eternal; we should all take a drink.
MUSIC
December 2016

THE VIPER SESSIONS
a collision of Vancouver forces in the dark heart of Montreal
THE PRETTYS
East-Van sonic therapy
Photo by Johann Wall
DEVON MOTZ
Like The Rolling Stones famously said,
“You can’t always get what you want.”
And sometimes, despite your purest
intentions you end up with something
else entirely. Other times you may find
you go on a spirit quest to Montreal to
sip coffee and play gigs in sunny cafes
for all the beautiful people but end up
recording a dark and earnest record
in an underground bunker until the
sun is but a distant memory. The latter
happens to be the recent adventures of
Local Creature & Alien Boy! (feat. Viper) and
the result was The Viper Sessions, a truly
inspired and moving country album, born
out of coincidence and idle hands.
After heading to Montreal with a
head full of dreams of playing rock and
roll for our Francophone neighbors, Local
Creature (Eric Campbell – The Dirt, The
Catastrophes) found himself with a lot
more free time then he had anticipated.
Venues were all booked up for the summer
and the gigs were looking scarce. “I was
kind of losing my mind after a while, I was
having a good time but I had no purpose
for being out there. You can only go to
so many coffee shops,” Campbell says.
Enter Alien Boy (Scott Matheson – Vader
Ryderwood), already situated in Montreal
after an exodus across the country
involving a foggy abduction of the extra
terrestrial variety (hense the namesake).
When asked about the specifics of his
encounter, Matheson could only tell
me that “I have been having a series
of dreams that are helping me piece it
together, maybe one day I can retain
enough information to tell you about
extra terrestrial life.” One can only
hope. At this point Alien Boy was also
enjoying a brief period of respite and
relaxation. What happened next was
pure poetry. “Well we both have a bunch
of free time and the space is pretty
dope so we better rent a microphone,”
Alien Boy recalls. Just magic. It was also
around this time Vancouver violinist
and heartthrob Viper (Emily Bach -Dirty
Spells, Big John Bates) was making a
brief stop in Montreal. The planets had
aligned, the time was right, the bunker
was awful and it was as if fate itself had
conspired for these three friends to
meet on the other side of our big weird
country to record some beautiful music
in a “hellish nightmare cave.”
With both Campbell and
Matheson having their own unique
brand of folk song writing and Bach’s
incredibly adaptive violin playing, The
Viper Sessions manages to hold your
attention the whole way through,
drawing you close with haunting
melodies and breaking you down
with good old fashioned grit. The
bunker dwelling trio took a minimalist
approach to the process, recording the
entire album with a single microphone,
that sadly did not survive the process.
The bunker giveth and the bunker
taketh away. Between the three of the
band members the resume of musical
projects they have been involved with
is almost unbelievably diverse, and it
shows. The Viper Sessions is a truly
engaging record start to finish.
Keep an ear to the ground for the
release of The Viper Sessions early next
year and be sure to find your Local
Creature prowling about The Fox Theatre
on Dec 22nd for the Fox’s annual
Christmas Pageant.
DANNY KRESNYAK
The Prettys are a tripped-the-fuck
out five-piece rock and roll act with
elements of surf, soul, and San Francisco
psychedelia in their sound and a dark
chord of true-grit depression in their
ugly lyrical content.
This talented East-Van quintuplet
is a modern day wrecking crew, borne
from the ashes of a legion of defunct acts
with every member keeping hooks into
numerous other projects. Yet the Prettys
remain the focus of their attention.
I caught up with two members at
the Grandview Legion, founder/guitarist
Code and saxophone player Matt (last
names withheld). We emptied pitchers
of pilsner draft and toasted Gordon
Lightfoot over bargain Irish Whiskey,
while attempting the age-old question,
what makes you so damn pretty?
According to Code, the soon to be
released LP Soiree is their “second first
record,” bringing in new instruments,
new members, and a newfound
maturity. “Well, I don’t live in a van
anymore,” he says. “Without this music
we’d all be either dead or in jail… We’d be
all sorts of fucked up if we didn’t play all
the time.” He says the band has already
begun recording material for their third
album, and hopes to follow the prolific
EMILY
CHAMBERS
straight up rhythm and blues
blossoms on Magnolia
COLLEEN RENNISON
The Prettys have bought the ticket and are taking the ride.
path of acts like King Gizzard and the
Lizard Wizard by eventually releasing
multiple albums every year.
The first single, “Friendship,” features
a disco tempo and cheery vocal melody
that on a casual listen seems to be sunshine
put on wax, but like a sad clown, you soon
realize the smile is painted on and under the
makeup is a bubbling psychopathy. “That
song is actually about being a shitty friend,
a shitty person in general,” Code muses.
“We’re not always the happiest people
but the music, playing it and playing it
together is what makes us happy.”
Saxophone player Matt became
part of The Prettys two years ago. He
saw them play live, decided they ruled
and eagerly made his play to join ranks.
He says he sees himself as the band’s
third guitar player, providing a texture
reminiscent of the Rolling Stones sax
man Bobby Keys into the songs.
“It’s not something you can expect
while rehearsing,” he says. “We’re not all
tight assess when we go into the studio.
We put up a disco ball, and just create
those great moments together. It keeps all
the demons at bay.”
Shortly after Matt joined the band,
the Prettys went on their first American
tour. The first show was a flop, but a bonding
experience encouraged by a stoned record
store manager and a few bottles of wine. On
the road they encountered crack dealers,
cops, attempted gear thieves, and spent
many nights packed in a grimy hotel room.
This is the kind of thing that will make or
break a band, and in the Prettys case there
is no turning back.
Now, with the line up established and the
stage set to rock, The Prettys will release
their LP Soiree onto the scene at Fortune
Sound Club December 8th.
Photo by Michael Clarke
Photo by Leah Trottier
Local Creature — The most lovely stuff to ever emerge out of a hellish nightmare cave.
The overwhelming feeling I get as I talk
to Emily Chambers, who I’ve caught on
the phone from the road somewhere
deep in the heart of Brooklyn, is that she
does whatever the fuck she wants.
A Berklee College of Music voice
program drop-out (“I didn’t wanna be
150k in debt and have a performance
degree.”), she quit her full time insurance
job after three years of employment
and has been on the road living out of
her van, Bessie, for 66 days on a tour of
the US. She booked the tour herself to
support her five-song EP, Magnolia, which
she independently released in September.
“It’s a sign of feminine beauty and
perseverance,” she says of the title, citing
the departure from her R&B band project,
Champagne Republic, as large reason.
“It was a big thing for me to walk
away.” I ask her if it makes an appearance
on the album, in the form of a lyric or
something. “No actually,” she replies.
“It has nothing to do with any of the
Emily Chambers hit the ground running with the release of her debut solo EP, Magnolia.
songs.” Perfect.
You’d be hard pressed to find
someone who wouldn’t be taken by the
flaxen haired bombshell, who’s sultry
no-bullshit brand of classic soul and
R&B reminds me of a cross between
Diana Krall and En Vogue. She hits that
flirtatious and subtly tongue-in-cheek
showmanship reminiscent of Michelle
Pfeiffer in the Fabulous Bake Boys on
the head, but with real pipes and a real
band to back it up.
“For the most part it’s all live-off-thefloor.
We did three days of bed tracks and
I sang with the boys, I really didn’t overdub
any vocals,” Chambers says.
Joined by boyfriend and
Washboard Union-er Brenden Krieg
on drums, Winston Minckler on bass,
Alexander Slock on guitar and Tyson
Naylor on keys, the album has a lovely
intimacy and a stunning accuracy to
the live performances I’ve seen. This is
likely due to having John Ram’s touch
on production at Afterlife, now moved
into the legendary Mushroom building
that was built as a studio during the
time that “live-off-the-floor” was the
only way to record.
Unsigned and un-managed (though
perhaps not for long), Chambers is the
real deal for those of you who like your
rhythm and blues served straight up.
Emily Chambers performs at Guilt & Co.
December 14.
December 2016 MUSIC
11

THE DANDY WARHOLS
mellowed Bohemian flavour with a touch of pop and a big messy finish
JENNIE ORTON
Before hipsters had the French press,
artisan gin, birch wood phone covers,
waxed moustache and riding a unicycle
to work, they looked to the Dandies of
the Warhol variety for hints at flavour.
A uniquely self-aware Portland anomaly
back before Bohemian was chic and
before Portland became a sea of condos
and ironic street art, the Dandy Warhols
have always been sneering while indulging;
never pretending to be something they
are not and telling it like it is with such an
unbridled sense of knowing sarcasm that
you can’t really argue.
They have resurfaced with
Distortland, their first full studio
album in four years, after spending
a considerable amount of time in a
traveling time machine celebrating the
13th anniversary of Thirteen Tales from
Urban Bohemia Live at the Wonder, their
third and first measurably commercially
successful album. Distortland has that
very self-aware, road-weary tone that we
all adopt when we spend any significant
amount of time looking backwards.
Guitar player and founding member
Peter Holmström, for one, was glad to
get back into a forward trajectory.
“Speaking for myself, I don’t really
like dwelling on the past,” Holmström
admits. “When we did the reissue of
Thirteen Tales it really started freaking
me out because it was like we were
looking back on what we’d done and felt
like it was signalling the end.”
Though it would appear to an
outside observer that the Dandies were
teetering dangerously close to becoming
a “heritage act,” the creative juices still
flowed and the band continued to
navigate a business and a home base
that were both being gentrified and repackaged
to fit a changing time.
“For the first 10 years or so there
was just this steady – it felt uphill –
sort-of climb. The success and the way
the music industry was going and our
place in it. And then Napster and all that
stuff changed the way that everybody
does business, and it’s just sort have
been survival mode since then,” muses
Holmström.
“I’m not really sure we’re necessarily
sure what is going on.”
Though the Warhols are, as
always, trying to suss out enough of
the game rules to play by them without
succumbing to the tides, they have
picked up wisdom from their time in
the gauntlet that has changed their
tone from societal observations to
existential minefields. Couple that with
the pop sensibilities of Jim Lowe behind
the boards (Taylor Swift, Stereophonics,
Fitz and the Tantrums) and you have an
album that is both accessible and full of
The Dandy Warhols take new
album as a chance to stop
dwelling on the past
Photo by Erich Bouccan
those messy truths we have come to be
indebted to the Warhols for bestowing
on us while we try to ignore the fact
that our coffee isn’t fair trade.
“We try sometimes to play
along and do things that will – not
fit in – but that would fit the format
better than what we normally do, like
shorter song lengths and less noise,
but we never get it quite right,” admits
Holmström.
That coming up short of getting
it exactly right is what has made The
Dandy’s Warhols such an appealing
touchstone for the ideals of those who
want to march to their own drummer
but who don’t want to just say “fuck it”
and burn out like a candle; something
messy but with the strength to evolve.
During “Catcher in the Rye,” a head
bobber and personal favourite
of Holmström’s, churning with
momentum led by Courtney Taylor-
Taylor’s purring vocals and Holmström’s
neato guitar tricks, Taylor advises:
“Don’t you know anything can get you
down
If you let it.
Some days more than others
This is how I’ve lived and learned
To divide them.
If you needed a friend I can lend
Some of my time to remind you.”
And remind you they will.
“You realize that all that little petty stuff
is just petty stuff and it doesn’t matter.
And you just let it go,” says Holmström.
“Yoga and meditation helps.”
So Bohemian.
The Dandy Warhols perform at the
Commodore Ballroom on December 6th.
2417 EAST HASTINGS STREET
12 MUSIC
December 2016

BEST OF 2016 LOCAL RELEASES
BY HEATHER ADAMSON, GLENN ALDERSON, DAVID CUTTING, JOSHUA ERICKSON,
ALEX HUDSON, ERIN JARDINE, JENNIE ORTON & VANESSA TAM
The Hard Part Begins is seductive and
sensual with gauzy guitars and gentle
drum machines that are strewn with lofi
synth and plinky MIDI piano. Forays
into toe-tapping dream pop, theatrical
balladry and twangy spaghetti western
are nestled within a cloud of hazy reverb.
At the centre of this New Age daydream
is singer Patrick Geraghty, whose
trembling baritone simultaneously
evokes cheeky schmaltz and aching
melancholy. Sadness has never sounded
sexier. (AH)
Releasing this debut LP seemingly out
of the blue, the title track opens with
Evy Jane’s hauntingly beautiful voice
floating in over orchestral instrumentals
produced by collaborator Jeremiah
Klein. Having been waiting since 2012
for new music from the pair, they have
pleasantly delivered on all fronts. (VT)
Spectres – Utopia (Deranged)
Moody and atmospheric, Spectres have
delivered another timeless post punk
offering. Just the right amount of goth
undertones with a nod to Christian Death,
Utopia is the sound of a band we’ve come
to know and love, a band who continue
to hide in the shadows of Vancouver like
extras on the set of Lost Boys. (GA)
IV is a vast album, boldly coming at you
with an eight-minute opening track and
basically keeping the drama at that level
the whole time. IV is the soundtrack
to your desert fever dream — crunchy,
synthy, expansive and relentless. Not for
the faint of heart. (JO)
driven ballads will definitely make you
feel some type of way. (GA)
Anciients - Voices of the Void
(Season Of Mist)
Anciients build tension within
their instrumentals very effectively
throughout this sophomore opus.
Tons of riffage within a solid structure
of songs, with the right amount of raw
emotion, felt more in the guitar lines
than the vocals. They travelled a darker
road this time around, drawing in new
attention that this band deserves. (EJ)
2016 was kinda meh for pop music,
but in an eager reprise Carly Rae Jepsen
stepped forward and gently reminded
us how it’s done right. Again. On Side B
she endeavors to revitalize that fuzzy ’80s
feeling of romance and illusory vibes. This
homegrown talent is the queen of pop
and queen of our hearts. (DC)
So Loki – V (Owake Records)
Matching their carefully distributed
debut EP, V, with equally specific ways
to physically experience the record
within the city, So Loki is looking to
make an impact on Vancouver with their
progressive hip-hop lyrics and production
style. And without any exaggeration,
they’ve totally succeeded. (VT)
White Lung – Paradise (Domino)
White Lung are as fierce as ever, but
things sound different on their fourth
LP, Paradise. With the risk of alienating
their core fan base, Mish Barber-Way
trades in her raw growling vocals for
a more polished singing style and the
risk pays off. White Lung have always
sounded sharp, but Paradise just cuts
deeper. (JE)
Art D’ecco – Day Fevers (Your Face)
This album is eyebrow-raisingly good;
a self-reflective journey, a heroes
wandering through a glammy abyss. A
lot like what would happen if T-Rex did a
duet with Orbison in Venus’s best-keptsecret
underground Euro pop club. (JO)
The Evaporators – Ogopogo Punk
(Mint)
Everyone’s favourite Human Serviette
is back with his band of merrymakers,
The Evaporators. After suffering a
stroke earlier in the year, Nardwuar has
returned in fine form. With track titles
like “I Can’t Be Shaved” and “Mohawks
& Dreadlocks,” The Evaporators’ wit is
still intact, their hooks are hooky and
they’re just as goofy. (JE)
(Dipstick)
Coming from Abbotsford, Cheap High
are familiar with the hell that suburbia
brings. The group boils down those
experiences into a tense and seething
beast of a record. Cheap High channel
cues from bands such as Protomartyr,
Joy Division and The Smiths, and are
further proof of the well of talent the
Fraser Valley holds. (JE)
Honest and pure, James Green’s Never
Ready is an ode to the working class
of sorts, but without ever coming
off too somber to pick you up after
a long day on the job. Somewhere
between Bill Callahan and Tom Petty,
Green has found his own voice and
it’s accompanied by a perfect blend of
country, folk and rock ‘n’ roll. (GA)
Supermoon - Playland (Mint Records)
Uniquely formatted as a double 7”,
Playland consists of eight short, snappy
indie pop ditties. Fun and lovably
off-kilter, the women of Supermoon
spike their cotton-candy-sweet
melodies with hints of dissonance and
melancholy. (AH)
Hot Hot Heat – Hot Hot Heat
(Culvert)
A lighthearted ode to a journey towards
closure, the songs on this farewell LP
run the gamut of exploring the act of
growing apart to the gentle prettiness
that exists within the new; all presented
as happy ditties that would be very at
home pulsing out of a portable radio in
the basket of a fixie on Third Beach. (JO)
City (You’ve Changed Records)
Adrian Teacher may have disbanded
Apollo Ghosts, but he’s still doing what
he does best: writing concise indie rock
ditties full of catchy hooks and local
references. His latest is a playfully scathing
commentary on gentrification. (AH)
(Mascot Records)
Giving us the dose of feminine strength,
resolve, empowerment and badass take-noprisoners
edge so many of us are yearning
for in rock ‘n’ roll, this album simultaneously
delivers a swift dagger to the heart while
daring you to dance on the bar. (HA)
Having collaborated with countless
Vancouver bands over the years, pop
auteur Jay Arner keeps getting better.
The outstanding Jay II is full of goodnatured
jokes, but the overwhelming
mood is one of glum existentialism.
Whistle along while contemplating the
void. (AH)
These New Westminster boys are
growing up and exploring the potential
within the soulful end of stoner rock
to the point where some interludes
could be described as a ballad. Not
to be written off as soft though, New
Waste brings forth some seriously
sophisticated riffs. (EJ)
Astrakhan - Reward in Purpose (War
Reward in Purpose commences with
a slow build of tension with ten minute
song, “Omajod,” a nod to Astrakhan’s
roots in doom and sludge. Powerful, clean
(Heavy Lark)
Finding grace in the comfort of song,
Daniel Terrence Robertson’s stark
debut is a beautiful exploration of life,
love, mortality and religion. These eight
heart-wrenching and haunting pianoharmonies
pepper this album, polishing
the sound as uniquely their own. (EJ)
Gritty, soulful and strange, this album
is an all-together riveting expression
shrouded in relative darkness, including
covers from generations of yesteryear
while providing a spin on contemporary
avant-country. (HA)
Dark and brooding electronic post rock
to take you in to the night; Sex With
Strangers found their groove a long time
ago but continue down a path of synthesized
submission. In a lot of ways Discourse is all
over the map genre-wise, but who really
wants to stay in once place when you’re
doing it with randoms anyway? (GA)
Dirty psych rock in all its glory. Spinning
tales as old as time of life on the road,
it’s all about digging the realness and
forgetting about everything else. Just
get lost in it, you can’t over-think this
music or it loses its magic. (HA)
Easy-going art-rock band Douse are
building on their folksy bones with their
debut full length offering, The Light in
You Has Left. Heavily filtered guitars
and vocals float over synth chords
and play with tension throughout the
album making for a dynamic listen from
beginning to end. (VT)
The Prettys - Soiree (self-released)
When I hear “soirée,” I think of hors
d’oeuvres and long-stemmed wine
glasses. The Prettys’ rockin’ album
Soiree, on the other hand, is the kind
of party that’s characterized by raiding
your parents’ liquor cabinet and barfing
on the lawn. (AH)
December 2016 MUSIC
13

BEST OF 2016
GLENN ALDERSON
JOSHUA ERICKSON
EDITOR IN CHIEF
MUSIC EDITOR
BEST ALBUM
In a perfect world, Kanye wouldn’t be such
a divisive figure in pop culture and everyone
would just STFU and enjoy TLOP for the
amazing album that it is. But maybe it’s better
to have Yeezy as a litmus test to filter out the
people who just don’t get it. I’ve been jamming
this record pretty much every day since its
release, and every day I appreciate it for a new
reason. Pray for Ye this holiday season.
(Runners up: Frank Ocean - Blonde, DIIV – Is
The Is Are, Skepta - Konnichiwa)
BEST SONG
Charlotte Day Wilson – “Work”
I feel this track on so many levels. It’s kind of
sad but it also makes me really happy. CDW
made her west coast debut over the summer
during Levitation, bringing her modest onewoman
R&B chiller vibes to the Imperial and
she killed it. Every relationship takes work if you
want to be happy in your life. This song reminds
me that it’s ok to not give up on love.
BEST LIVE SHOW
I’d just got home from M For Montreal
and was so sick of live music, but then
my friend Simon called to remind me
PUP was playing and I’m super glad he did.
It was tough to pretend I didn’t know all
the words at this pop punk rager and even
decided to make it my one crowd-surf of
the year. At one point my glasses fell to the
bottom of the mosh pit and didn’t even
break — a punk rock miracle indeed!
BEST MOVIE
The Girl With All The Gifts
I love me a good post-apocalyptic zombie
movie and this is one of the best I’ve seen since
28 Days Later. A unique take on an arguably
tired genre, it’s a wild ride from start to finish. I
also like how they call the zombies “hungries.”
BEST MOMENT
Finding return flights to LA for $50 can
only yield amazing results. This particular
trip consisted of three free nights at a Four
Seasons, one evening at the Comedy Store
watching Pauly Shore, Judd Apatow and
Anthony Jeselnik, and an Uber ride from
Prince’s former bassist, Gerry Hubbard,
who ended up dropping us at In-N-Out
after a few extra circles around the block
while we chatted and reminisced about his
recently departed friend.
BEST ALBUM
Australia’s King Gizzard & The Lizard
Wizard is likely the hardest working band
in the world. With eight records in the
last four years, Nanagon Infinity may be
their best. Riffs on tops of riffs, catchy
hooks, harmonica solos, and blazing
unhinged psychedelia abound. Runners up:
David Bowie - Blackstar, Young Thug - JEFFERY)
BEST SONG
With the untimely passing of Malik
“Phife Dawg” Taylor (along with Bowie,
Prince, and countless others) one might
have thought 2016 couldn’t get any
worse. Then Trump won. A few days
later, A Tribe Called Quest released a new
album and it couldn’t have been more
timely. A new ATCQ album could have
been firmly rooted in nostalgia, but album
standout “We The People…” proves ATCQ
have no time for looking back and that
their sights are set firmly in the future.
Political and unwavering, it is truly a
breathtaking track.
BEST LIVE SHOW
Seeing of one the most creative minds in
music history perform my favourite album
in its entirety in front of me was surreal.
“God Only Knows” made me cry.
BEST MOVIE
Hail, Caesar!
Criminally overlooked, Hail, Caesar! may be
the Cohen Brothers’ funniest film since
The Big Lebowski. Look out for scene
stealer Alden Ehrenreich staring as young
Han Solo in the 2018 Star Wars spinoff film.
BEST MOMENT (NOT MUSIC RELATED)
Seeing Lake Louise for the first time. I was
born and raised in BC and somehow never
made it up to Lake Louise until recently. In
such a tumultuous year filled with so much
misery, tragedy, and general shittiness, it
was nice to experience some quiet, tranquil
beauty. four years, Nanagon Infinity may
be their best. Riffs on tops of riffs, catchy
hooks, harmonica solos, and blazing
unhinged psychedelia abound. Runners up:
David Bowie - Blackstar, Young Thug - JEFFERY)
DAVID CUTTING
QUEER EDITOR
BEST ALBUM
Our home grown queen slices us deep
with this epic 80’s throwback album.
Comprised of rejects from her 2015
EMOTION album, this collection makes
me wonder if Jepsen’s producers have
the Crabby patty recipe for pop Music.
She takes the mundane, like going to
the store and riding a bike and makes
them into atheism that us gays will be
worshipping for years to come.
Runners up: St Lucia - Matter, Lady Gaga
- Joanne (Sorry Bey)
BEST SONG
Impassioned Politically charged front
man Stephen Jenkins takes us to the
moment where racism manifests and
slays our comfortable privilege so hard.
A must listen.
BEST LIVE SHOW
This show was LIT. Nobody was standing
still. The complexities of the music was
effortlessly created on stage to the finest
detail. The band genuinely looked like
they were having a good time. I bought
tickets off a 15 YO girl the morning of
the show, went alone, knew every word,
and REGRET NOTHING.
BEST MOVIE
Contact
Need I say more?
BEST MOMENT
Meeting my drag mothers, Shanda
Leer and Carlotta Gurl. Shanda was
an incredible support for me when I
was starting Queen of the Month and
Carlotta Gurl is one of the kindest hard
working queens I know.
ERIN JARDINE
LOCAL EDITOR
BEST ALBUM
I’m generally not into tons of Beyonce,
but that beautiful being sure knows
how to motivate women and release an
album. First there were the rumours of
Jay-Z cheating, then the memes that
spread like wildfire as social media
realized the album video had been
released through Tidal, a company that
Jay-Z owns, and of course the stern
reminder to those who allow themselves
to be swallowed by entertainment
media that art can progress beyond the
recording studio, stage or video set and
penetrate the media and ultimately the
target audience’s perception of reality.
Black Mirror shit. Runners Up: Sumac -
What One Becomes,
Meshuggah - The Violent Sleep of Reason
BEST SONG
Gorguts – “Pleiades Dust”
BEST LIVE SHOW
Sometimes one of the best way to
become a fan is to be absolutely blown
away by a live performance without
any prior listenings or awareness. I was
shocked I hadn’t heard of Fidlar before
and they became my summer learning
how-to-longboard soundtrack.
BEST MOVIE
Deadpool
Every Vancouverite loves seeing Ryan
Reynolds in their city, I’m down for an
obscene amount of sequels.
BEST MOMENT
with an outdated iPhone 5 with no
predictable battery life, a cracked screen,
fuzzy microphone and software issues.
JENNIE ORTON
MANAGING EDITOR
BEST ALBUM
Roadiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool
This album is so beautiful and striking
that it took me about 5 listens before
I could put it into words. It is anotherlevel
dreamscape on par with nothing
else. Runners up: Beyonce – Lemonade,
David Bowie - Blackstar
BEST SONG
From the first notes until the
vaulting layered vocals of the chorus,
this seductive piece of glam candy is
like that person who has your heart and
mind in a stranglehold who you gladly
submit to.
BEST LIVE SHOW
3 hours long and punctuated with
stories from the Smoky Mountains; the
show was gripping and joyful. Dolly is
also disarmingly self-aware. When she
said “I’ve always been a little too good to
be real bad, and a little too bad to be real
good” I discovered a new life goal.
BEST MOVIE
An absolutely stunning film in every
sense of that word. I was captivated,
horrified, sickened, exhilarated, and
ultimately haunted by it. It is unlike any
movie I have ever seen.
BEST MOMENT
My first
night back, I was in the passenger seat of
a car belonging to the man I came back
to be with, driving down Cornwall as the
sun was going down and I felt like a pretty
massive badass for making it back here in
one piece. Great city. Glad to be here.
14
December 2016

GALEN ROBINSON-EXO
YASMINE SHEMESH
PARIS SPENCE-LANG
VANESSA TAM
GRAEME WIGGINS
LIVE EDITOR
CITY EDITOR
FILM EDITOR
ELECTRONIC EDITOR
COMEDY EDITOR
BEST ALBUM
I love this record because it challenges
hip-hop conventions while still catering
squarely to a rap music audience. I also
love its seamless inclusion of gospel
music, it’s full of really upbeat, uplifting
tracks that don’t feel contrived.
Runners up: Bon Iver - 22, A Million
& BadBadNotGood - IV
BEST SONG
“Glowed Up”
This one’s the track I found myself
dancing by myself to most often
this year. I feel like Kaytranada and
.Paak really compliment one another,
and this is a gem of a morning commute
song. If this song doesn’t make you want
to dance, you’re dead inside.
BEST LIVE SHOW
It’s not often that a concert will make
me tear up, but I definitely shed a
couple tears during this performance.
The Orpheum is a beautiful theatre,
and Blake’s performance was equally
elaborate and well-crafted. He was
accompanied by a guitarist and a
drummer, all of whom had been friends
for years, and they were all incredibly
on point. They played live renditions of
some lesser-known dubstep remixes by
Blake, the most memorable of which
being “Stop What You’re Doing,” which
quite literally shook the theatre along
with everyone in it.
BEST MOVIE
The genius of this film is its absolute
dedication to an absurd premise; it takes
place in a world in which people who are
single by a certain age are given one last
chance to find love before they are turned
into animals. The result is a surreal, funny
and thought-provoking film about an
expertly crafted alternate universe.
BEST MOMENT
by watching
a fireworks display orchestrated by hippie
lunatics at the Oregon Country Fair.
BEST ALBUM
Obel has this incredible voice that’s at
once delicate and powerful. The way
that she pairs it with violin, cello, and
harpsichord on Citizen of Glass gives
me chills every time I listen to it. It’s
haunting, evocative, and gorgeous. Like
the score to an old Hitchcock.
(1. Suede - Night Thoughts 2. Tragically
Hip - Man Machine Poem)
BEST SONG
Lush - “Out of Control”
It’s incalculable how many times I’ve
listened to this glorious, glorious song
on repeat. Reforming after two decades
and releasing the wonderfully dreamy
Blind Spot, Lush sadly announced
they’re calling it quits for good. The
reunion may have been short, but it was
very sweet.
BEST LIVE SHOW
Paramount Theatre, Seattle
How to even describe this? No words
can do justice to the beauty that was
this evening. The 50th anniversary of
Pet Sounds, one of the greatest albums
of all time. A breathtaking setting. A full
band that made songs like “God Only
Knows” sound like the heavens parted.
Brian Wilson at the piano, singing
joyously. An experience I will never
forget.
EPIC.
BEST MOVIE
Oasis: Supersonic
BEST MOMENT
This summer, my cousins were visiting
from Wales. They were here for about
three weeks, but we had this one really
special day at Spanish Banks. We took
turns barbecuing burgers and hot dogs.
We swam in the ocean. I taught my
youngest cousin how to skim board. We
kicked the ball around and bruised our
shins. We laughed until the sun set. It
was perfect.
BEST ALBUM
Bernie Sanders is a fan of Kanye West. I
know because Kanye is as progressive as
you get: he is an explorer, and his ability
to find uncharted realms in sound
constantly amazes me. If Kanye’s ego
is really as big as people think it is,
then why is he so freely able to risk
everything? Kanye made Pablo for one
person: himself. Everyone else can go
fuck themselves. Runners up: Chance
the Rapper - Coloring Book; Dorian Ye -
The Life of Paul
BEST SONG
I never knew that Sister Nancy would
sound so good hyped by Swizz Beatz.
BEST LIVE SHOW
I never get tired of talking about Kanye,
but this show spoke for itself. Kanye flew
over the crowd and played 74
immaculate songs. Everyone else needs
to quit practicing on stage.
BEST MOVIE
“Booo.” Yeah, whatever. This movie kind
of sucked (it felt like I was watching the
Celebrity Apprentice) but putting the
quality aside, it penetrated the populace
and spread a message we need to hear.
There were better movies, like The
Lobster and The Neon Demon, and
even better documentaries, like Where
to Invade Next, but I would rather
see a film with an impact, and in that
regard, DiCaprio delivers.
BEST MOMENT
BEST ALBUM
Oh man, we’ve been waiting for a new
album from Frank for four years and
he didn’t let us down. This album is so
perfect and timely it makes me want to
cry in public. Runners up: Flume - Skin,
Kanye West - The Life Of Pablo
BEST SONG
Is it too soon to call this song iconic? I
don’t think so. The lyrics are iconic, the
video is iconic, the dance moves are
iconic, all of the residual memes were
iconic, Drake is iconic.
BEST LIVE SHOW
I’ve always wanted to see these guys live
and it just so happened that they were
playing Pemberton the year I was set
to go. Yolandi’s voice sounds like a high
pitched hyper-angel.
BEST MOVIE
Zootopia
I’m terrible at watching movies when
they’re still new and just so happened to
see this one while I was on a plane. The
last time I set foot in a movie theatre was
to see Star Wars - The Force Awakens
last year. Sorry.
BEST MOMENT
I turned 30 this year which is kind of
the best/worst thing ever depending on
how you look at it.
BEST ALBUM
Chance may have had the breakout album
of the year, but compatriot Noname got
more play from me. She shares some
similarities to Chance but while he’s
gone on to push the envelope of rap, she
holds things down lyrically with a great flow
and way with words. There’s some deeply
affecting and relatable stuff here. Runners
up: Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition, Carly
Rae Jepsen - Emotion Side B
BEST SONG
Aesop Rock – “Rings”
Super affecting song about age and
giving up on your interests. He’s best
when he doesn’t let his hyper-lyricism
get in the way of narrative and this
captures that balance perfectly.
BEST LIVE SHOW
It’s not often you see a 68 year old thrust
his pelvis like that. He’s still got moves.
Made especially important given his
recent stomach cancer diagnosis.
BEST MOVIE
Green Room
Terrifying and brutally violent. Any
movie that uses “Nazi Punks Fuck Off”
as a plot point will likely be a fave.
Violence against Nazis seems all the
more relevant at this point in the year.
BEST MOMENT
That it’s coming to a close. 2016
killed off some of my favourite artists,
elected a terrifying monster to the most
important position in the world and failed
to move very much forward personally.
Here’s hoping 2017 gets better.
December 2016 15

NEUROSIS
in pursuit of their emotional essence for over 30 years
ERIN JARDINE
Few carry such formidable influence
over the development of heavy music,
yet actively practice the gratitude and
humility for the art as Neurosis. “If
we’re credited with pioneering a genre
or a sound, I guess on a certain level
we succeeded in finding our own voice.
The fact that it’s inspirational to other
people is a great honour. When you
make such self centred weird music the
fact that anyone else likes it at all is a
pure miracle,” aptly puts vocalist and
guitarist Steve Von Till. “When you’ve
been around for 30 years, you’ve seen
so many labels come and go. They seem
quite absurd in the grand scale. We were
always inspired by the DIY punk ethos
of ‘fuck you we do what we want’ and
what we wanted to do was to create an
emotionally powerful, original mode
of expression.” Neurosis has released
twelve LPs, with their most recent being
2016’s Fires Within Fires.
Each release offers a window into
the development of this group as their
lives ebb and flow like any other. “We
see it as a spiral of evolution, we’re
spiralling towards the essence of what
we are supposed to be. We feel very
lucky that the inspiration we tap into
just by finding each other and opening
ourselves up to the spirit that seems
so much bigger than us, this own force
of nature that it just happens we are
the ones who get to tap into it. By the
strange geometry of our relationship with
our instruments and each other, we tap
into something fairly infinite and we’ll
probably die trying to find the perfect
versions of ourselves, but that’s fine,” Von
Till is evidently in awe of the creations
produced by Neurosis over the years.
The Fires Within Fires release
lined up perfectly with their 30 year
anniversary string of shows, but even
that was a natural collision of unrelated
forces. “We live pretty far away from
each other. It’s rare that we actually get
the time to just sit and jam. We took
a weekend to meet up and see what
happens and by the end of this one
weekend we had the skeleton for this
whole album. The technical date for our
anniversary is December 2015, originally
we were going to book gigs at that time.
As soon as that weekend was over we
were like ‘holy shit, we can’t believe this
album has just dropped in our lap like a
Photo by Scott Evans
gift from the universe, fuck gigs, we’re
spending our anniversary alone in the
studio where we want to be.”
So, technically Vancouver is celebrating
Neurosis’ 31st Anniversary on December
20 at the Venue with Yob and SUMAC.
Photo by Chris Preyser
PROTEST THE HERO
a sea of change in their latest release
JAMES OLSON
Never ones to rest on their laurels,
Toronto’s Protest the Hero sought to
take on a new distribution approach
with the release of their latest EP, Pacific
Myth. Released over a 12 month span
to paying subscribers via Bandcamp,
vocalist Rody Walker cites the NOFX
“7 Inch of the Month” vinyl club as the
primary influence for the prog-rockers
to experiment with sharing music with
their fans. Walker describes the process
as a fun experiment that allowed the
band to push themselves to write
music in a more streamlined fashion.
More generally, Walker encourages
experimentation when it comes to different
distribution methods. “I think everyone
should be attempting to experiment and
I don’t know necessarily if you need to
innovate but why not?” Walker says. “The
industry has been the way that it was for so
long that it needed something to shake it
up. Crowdfunding and other things like
it came in and really shook it up. There’s
no reason not to push it further.”
Pacific Myth also signalled a sea
change in the writing process within the
band as drummer Mike Ieradi recorded
in the studio with Protest for the first
time. “Mike had a lot more input [in
the songwriting],” Walker reports. “He
constantly writes music on GuitarPro
and he just sends it out. So we wound
up using a lot of his guitar stuff which
is hilarious because he’s a drummer. I
think things really changed up for the
other guys in the band.”
Last year Protest celebrated the
ten year anniversary of the release
of their debut album Kezia with an
accompanying tour in which they
performed the record in its entirety
with the original lineup on stage.
Walker provides a particularly wry
perspective on the longevity of the
band in reference to that tour. “What I
think was most interesting about those
Kezia shows was meeting a lot of people
coming out that were our age and had
listened to the record a long time ago,”
Walker observes. “And then there were
these kids with a ghost of a moustache
on their face going ‘Oh yeah I used to
love Kezia back in the day.’ What? You
loved that when you were like two?
You’re 12 years old right now, what the
fuck are you talking about? If we keep
going here there are going to be kids
coming to shows that weren’t alive when
Kezia came out. That’s a little terrifying to
me but also kinda funny to me.”
After 2016 mercifully concludes,
Protest join August Burns Red on their
own anniversary tour before setting their
sights on Australia to escape the dreaded
Canadian winter. Protest the Hero aim to
keep forging their own path.
Protest the Hero play Vogue Theatre
December 8th with A Wilhelm Scream.
16 THE SKINNY
December 2016

DIECEMBERFEST AND THEIR PETS
the soft fuzzy side of the crusty scene
ADRIANNA HEPPER
Adrianna Hepper is cat-mum to E. Van’s
wildest little rock n roller Yngwie Meowmsteen,
and founder of PetFam.com . Sign up to safely
connect with other loving, nearby pet parents
for free pet sitting exchange!
Patrons and participants of all music
loud, heavy, aggressive, and sweaty:
what, I pray thee, is our DEAL with
dissolving into helpless, baby-talking
babbling softies the second a cat comes
into view? What compels us to swaddle
a filthy stray in the warmth of our most
beloved battle jacket without a second
thought, or transition from smashing a
drum kit to patting out a lengthy drumbum
solo hilariously on our dogs’ butts?
Many of us heavy music lovers also
love to support pet rescues - could it be
as musical underdogs we feel a particular
affinity for the real… underdogs?
Whatever the reason, oi! We
bloody love our pets! And here to prove it
are four local badass musicians confessing
their love for their widdle furbabies.
Cavan Egan
Guitarist and Vocalist
Bushwhacker
Sage Davies
Vocals/ Guitar
The Waning Light
Parker Lane
Vocals
The Mountain Man
Drummer
Bog
1.What kind of pet do you have, and
what is its name?
1. Snoop Lion is a “felis catus,” otherwise
known as a “domesticated cat.”
1. My dog is a rat terrier named Princess
Slaya.
1. I have a big German shepherd named
Loki.
1. I have a 30 pound Maine Coon cat
named Sunrise.
4. What’s your most hilarious or
a human, who are you pretty sure
personality?
To pinch the cheeks of these hopeless,
pet-loving musicians in person, come
down to Diecemberfest, Dec. 9 at the Russian
Hall in Vancouver where they’ll all be
playing. Bring a food item for pets (SPCA)
or for humans (Food Bank) to be entered
to win good stuff from local businesses!
2. I once spent five hours wrapping a
2×4” in twine to make him an adequate
scratching post. Halfway through the
process I had to grab a pair of gardening
gloves to keep my hands from blistering.
3. Following a recent minor operation,
Snoop had to wear a cone and stay
inside for ten days. He protested by
pissing on my expensive MEC raincoat.
4. Shikapoo, Shikapuss, and Mr. Meow
(who wants his morning meats).
Recently I’ve also started calling him
Psycho Dink.
5. Back in time, Snoop Lion would
probably turn up as a Viking, Pirate, or
maybe a Samurai. If it were a future
reincarnation, probably a secret agent
eager to hunt and kill his enemies, yet
loyal and loving to his allies.
2. I make little blanket forts for her. It just
kills me to see her little head poking out.
3. While camping last summer, Slaya
unzipped the tent and bolted at
4:00am. Having derided our white trash
neighbours for having lost their six
year old the previous evening, now we
were the dickwads waking everyone up
looking for the damned dog.
4. Frequently I tell her that she’s “Dada’s
number one girl.” Neither Mrs. Sage nor
our daughter, Haida, are impressed.
5. Slaya would be that neurotic stoner
that’s worried about everything but
can’t be arsed to even get off the couch.
2. When I’m eating spaghetti, I like
to share and hope for a Lady and the
Tramp-type scene. It never ends up that
way.
3. If Loki isn’t monitored when he’s
doing his business, he will eat said
business. Once, after chomping down
some delicious fecal matter, he ran up and
licked my friend’s arms and white shirt.
4. My girlfriend constantly calls him
Tuna Lips because his breath always
smells like sour fish (laughs).
5. Do cartoon characters count? Because
he’s totally got Yogi Bear’s demeanour,
“Duhhhhhhhh.”
2. I occasionally buy him expensive wet
dog food, so that I can heckle him for
eating the same food as a poodle or tiny
Yaletown dog.
3. I have literally watched Sunrise fight
three cats simultaneously. He won, they
backed away. He also bullied another cat
of mine so bad that it peed all over the
house from stress. He likes to dominate.
4. “SUNBOY!” said in as high pitched a
voice as possible.
5. John Goodman in his fattest and
most surely role.
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Christmas Calorie Counting?
ive got a secret if you pinky swear not to tell who told me.
(Santa told me )Matcha Torches Body Fat(it was santa)
December 2016

ZUCKUSS
the joke is on you
HEATH FENTON
Local grind busters Zuckuss have been
at it for nearly 20 years. They play
regular gigs thoughout Vancouver, but
space them out with enough months in
between for a hefty dose of headliner
excitement every time they pop up on
a bill. Zuckuss play what they like to call
Star Wars inspired pornogrind, and it
goes pretty much exactly like it sounds.
“Basically we take pornography, Star
Wars, and death metal grind, [and] fuse
them all together,” drummer Bossck
Jass explains. “Conceptually that exists
mostly in our artwork and song titles.
There are no lyrics. We use vocals
purely as a percussive instrument.”
With three records under their belt,
Titfucked By A Tauntaun (2000),
Rancor Rimjob (2004), and Gamorrean
Gangbang (2009), you can probably get
the jest. Let’s just say that the artwork
for each album is pretty much spot
on too. It may seem all tongue and
cheek, and it is. But make no mistake,
when it comes to the music, Zuckuss
are as serious as it gets. Jass, guitarists
Dungar and Boba Frett, bassist Lord
Blader, and vocalist Landin Morpussyin
spew out a spastic, chaotic, and brutal
brand of metal. Crazy, obscene, and
often bizarre samples are trampled
under sheer terror vocal sounds and
savage musical earthquakes. Their
lack of song structures makes it go off
like a symphony of car bombs. “We’ve
averaged it out that a song that is
typically under two minutes long may
contain anywhere from 25-30 different
riffs with blast beats upon blast beats.
Very chunky and heavy,” says Jass. “It
takes a lot of hard work to play and
learn this music.”
Are there any other metal bands
in this town that can lay claim to
being around for 20 years? If there are,
then I can’t think of any (Annihilator
doesn’t count). Zuckuss might just
be the oldest band you never heard of.
However, they are no slouches. They
have been around the greasy metal shop
like an old oil rag. They’ve shared the
stage with such high profile acts such as
Napalm Death, Cryptopsy, Suffocation,
Cattle Decapitation, and Kataklysm.
They are very well versed in the
underground and that is where they get
their respect from. “We kind of want to
be that band that no one knows about.
We’re not exactly making a product that
is very sellable,” Jass goes on. “Especially
with the blatant plagiarism of Star
Wars imagery. We don’t pay for any of
the samples we use. And we use a shit
tonne of them. No record label will ever
sign us. The risk would be high to take
us on. We have a very limited fan base.
So we really don’t fucking care.”
True to form, Zuckuss have an
agenda. They are presently in the
studio recording their 4th record and
plan to release it to coincide with their
20th anniversary on May the 4th. 2017
is also the 40th anniversary of Star
Wars. The fourth coming record Zuck
My Nock will be the latest installment
in Zuckuss’ plan of an end total of nine
albums in three trilogy structures that
replicate George Lucas’ Star Wars vision.
“We like to have fun. Most death
metal to me is ridiculous. They sing
about raping corpses and mutilating
people. And the guys doing it are so
serious about it. Zuckuss is poo poo
humour. We’re playing the most brutal,
heaviest, fastest, and most complicated
death metal possible. But we do it with
a shit eating grin on our face. There is
no blood and no violence. We don’t
promote racism or intolerance. We are
happy when we play our music. We’re
a bunch of jokers,” Jass proclaims. “But
we’re serious about the music. Make
the music brutal, but the imagery light
hearted.”
Seeing them live is like a harmless
prank that becomes serious business
right quick. So you best get in on it.
Zuckuss will be opening for the Golers
and Tyrants Blood on December 3rd at
Pat’s Pub.
ILLUSTRATION BY SYD DANGER
In physics, “dead time” is the time after each
event during which the system is unable
to record another event. I chose it as the
name of this column because I believe it
signifies the reality of how the underground
arts community operates, especially in this
day and age, and especially in a city like
Vancouver. The artists I’m referring to go
largely unnoticed by anyone outside of the
community they’re involved in, whether it
be through the grind of establishing oneself
by playing lowly attended shows, or through
the work of DIY spaces that are navigating
the ever tricky balancing act of legality and
legitimacy. The irony of having to hide to
exist, but being unable to sustain without
being seen, would be quite humourous if it
wasn’t so bitterly true.
Despite being the very fabric of the
so-called culture that “our” spokespeople
claim to champion (and use to decorate
their rhetoric with), the arts community
are among the ones who have slipped
beneath the cracks, toiling in that “dead
time” that isn’t being noted by anyone above
the surface. And when the occasional ray
of potential light appears in the form of
funding or the relaxation of unreasonable
rules, I’m naturally inclined to be skeptical
of whatever is presented. Take for example
the naive excitement that surrounded the
announcement of the $15 million BC Music
Fund earlier this year. Has anyone you or I
know seen any of that? Do you believe any
of us will? Are we not part of that group
that “develops culture” and “contributes to
the cultural fabric of our province”? I guess
not. We are the tier below. When they talked
about creating jobs were they talking about
enabling artists to work within their own
industry? Or were they talking about the
numerous bureaucratic channels one has to
pass through just to be told yes or no?
This isn’t surprising. Nor is it new. We
have relatively little systemic support, a
the irony of having to hide to exist
FROM THE DESK OF MITCH RAY
police force that at times serves as a revenue
collection agency, and a myriad of outdated
regulations that are gifted a convenient cop
out clause in the form of vaguely worded
criteria that allow the powers that be to
tread the line between misleading and
dishonest. The arbitrary and petty nature
of certain processes, coupled with the
constantly changing and unclear criteria, can
make something like a licence application
feel like nothing more than a thinly veiled
bribe, under the guise of legitimate due
process. It’s a trait of this part of the world;
the over complication of processes and
implementation of arbitrary guidelines that
largely serve the institutions that perpetuate
these processes and guidelines, rather than
the people they claim to assist. No, this is
not the case 100 per cent of the time but
it often is, and we feel it regularly in our
backyard. It’s a vocalized facade trumpeting
arts and culture rendered laughable in a
city landmarked by the cruel poeticism of
constant reminders such as the old Red
Gate now occupied by a Crossfit, or
development deals being sweetened by
the allure of the very “cultural fabric”
they are rendering obsolete.
It’s hard not to feel like the walls are
closing in. The available area is literally
shrinking. But this is not an excuse to fold.
It’s under these circumstances that the finest
art emerges and the most creative thinkers
are forced to invent new ways of existing, of
sustaining, and of thriving. The landscape
is changing. The new era of Vancouver is
looming over the remnants of the golden
age, and although I loathe much of what is
coming, I’m excited for the art and music
that will grow out of adversity.
Mitch Ray puts on events and manages
artists under the name Art Signified. He also
co-runs an art space in Vancouver known as
Studio Vostok located at 246 Keefer.
THE SKINNY
December 2016

CLUBLAND
DECEMBER 2016
VANESSA TAM
Vancouver — The end is nigh, the end of 2016 that is. And thank goodness,
amirite? Let’s put a bow on this garbage year and take it to the curb on a high
note with our top five end of the year electronic and hip hop concert picks.
Tensnake
December 10 @ Celebrities
Hailing from Hamburg, Germany, Marco Niemerski, known professionally
as Tensnake, is probably most recognized for his popular single “Coma
Cat” which swept the interwebs as well as the UK Singles, Indie, and Dance
Charts back in 2010. Currently, he’s become just as well known for his
marathon deep house and disco infused sets that continue to pack dance
floors around the world.
Sweater Beats
December 14 @ Fortune Sound Club
Gaining popularity in the midst of Soundcloud’s heyday with the release
of his debut single “Mlln Dllr” on Annie Mac’s Radio1 show, Antonio Cuna,
also known as Sweater Beats, has always been on his own hybrid wave of
contemporary R&B and dance music. Currently on tour with a brand new
live set, only purely euphoric and sexy vibes can be expected from this
experienced producer.
Roy Woods
December 15 @ Imperial
Another OVO Sound wunderkind, Roy Woods, who also goes by Denzel
Spencer, is a Canadian rapper, singer, and songwriter from Brampton,
Ontario. Getting his first big break when Drake premiered his single,
“Drama,” on OVO Sound radio, the young crooner will definitely make ya
body whine in support of his debut LP, Waking at Dawn.
Falcons
December 16 @ Fortune Sound Club
Deeply engrossed in the future of hip hop, R&B, and electronic dance music,
Falcons is an LA based producer that prefers to live on the more turnt up
side of the musical spectrum. Well known for his original single “Aquafina”
featuring American rapper Goldlink, Falcons has been able to travel all
around the world with his music and has even spent some time living here
in Vancouver back in the day.
The Funk Hunters
December 21-22 @ Commodore Ballroom
Vancouver’s own The Funk Hunters put the soul back into electronic dance
music. Fresh off of a successful year playing international stages including
Coachella, Burning Man, Pemberton Music Festival, and Shambhala, the DJ
duo of Nick Middleton and Duncan Smith are returning to their hometown
for the holidays to share their bass heavy sound, their stunning customcurated
visuals, and their animated stage presence.
The Funk Hunters
Photo by Mark Brennan
PORTER ROBINSON AND MADEON
a bromance that benefits us all
PRACHI KAMBLE
EDM besties Porter Robinson and Madeon share how their ten years of friendship inspired The Shelter Tour.
While these two electronic music
producers have both played in
Vancouver many times before, Madeon,
also known as Hugo Leclercq, and Porter
Robinson’s upcoming performance on
The Shelter Tour will be based around
their first collaborative single “Shelter” as
well as the duos own inspiring friendship.
Currently in their 20s, Robinson
and Leclercq first met in an online music
production forum back in 2006 when
they were just 14 and 12 respectively.
“We’ve seen each other grow into
adults and our unique life situations
are [actually] incredibly similar,” says
Leclercq of their decade long friendship.
“We are both electronic music
producers who had to tour the world at
a young age. Those things are difficult to
share with everyone else.”
“It’s similar to when twins develop
their own language,” explains Robinson,
seamlessly picking up where Leclercq
trails off. “Hugo and I have so many
[shared] references, patterns of speech,
and ways of thinking and discussing
ideas. It can be hard to decipher for
other people. That’s how close we are
and how much of a deep understanding
we have of each other’s sensibilities.”
While Robinson is mostly known
for his sweeping electro house
compositions and Madeon is more
recognized for his futuristic electropop
tracks, together the two producers
operate in an aural sweet spot that
highlights both of their strengths
simultaneously. Their collaborative
single “Shelter,” for example, is a perfect
representation of the duos chemistry as
producers and was created in Leclercq’s
home studio located in Nantes, France.
Focusing primarily on songwriting
and lyrics, the two producers chose to
work on the track together in the studio as
opposed to online. “A lot of [our process]
was [through] conversation. Talking about
what we wanted to express, about music
and sharing a human moment opposed
to sending demos back and forth over the
Internet,” says Leclercq.
“We [also] spent a long time stuck and
frustrated with the lyrics. The big surprise
came when we changed the theme of the song
to something a lot more real to us,” explains
Robinson. “That was a big breakthrough.”
“[The new theme that we decided
on was] family and passing on. The idea
of transmission through generations
and how those ideas formed who we
are [as people],” Leclercq adds.
Building on the pair’s musical
collaboration, the two also combined
their talent on the visual aspect of their
tour. “We wanted to showcase our
friendship and the human component
of our music, opposed to the fictional
visuals we use in our solo work. So
the slides in the art show are more
photography based,” says Leclercq.
“We had so many breakthroughs
about videos and lighting that were very
revelatory,” Robinson mentions. “One
of Hugo’s biggest demands was the use
of a lot of negative space, often times
refusing to shift the borders of video
walls to create [an] infinite perspective
which [looks] pretty amazing. So the
visuals are deeply collaborative.”
Leclercq adds, “The real show will
be the way we interact with each other
on stage. We have a great time together
playing our favourite music.”
Porter Robinson and Madeon perform
at The Vogue Theatre December 6 and 7.
December 2016 ELECTRONICS DEPT.
19

ZEDS DEAD
KAROLINA KAPUSTA
ZEDS DEAD ELECTRONICALLY RECREATES THE BRILLIANCE OF THE NORTHERN LIGHTS ON THEIR FIRST ORIGINAL LP.
After almost a decade spent releasing an
onslaught of EPS and remixes, travelling
worldwide on several massive tours, and
most recently, completing their first
full-length studio album and starting a brandnew
record label, Dylan Mamid and Zachary
Rapp-Rovan, also known as Zeds Dead, have
accomplished an insane amount in their careers so
far. “I still think we’re freshmen in this scene [in terms]
of people [that we] look up to. I forget [that] we’ve been
in it for [so] long,” Rapp-Rovan answers humbly over
the phone.
Rapp-Rovan and Mamid first met in their
hometown of Toronto in the mid-2000s where
they bonded over their mutual love for hip-hop
music and production. Growing up in the Myspace
era, the duo originally teamed up under the title
Mass Productions and independently released a
free LP inspired by 1990s hip-hop titled Fresh
Beetz. Pretty soon thereafter, the two friends first
discovered electronic dance music and began to
produce dance beats under Zeds Dead, a moniker
inspired by the movie Pulp Fiction, in 2009.
As their fan base began to expand, the duo
founded a weekly underground party that they
called Bassmentality in the actual basement of a
Toronto bar called 751. Used as a platform for
new DJs to freely play, the night championed the
early EDM scene in Canada and explored sub-genres
like dubstep, UK garage, and bass. Over the years
the party became known for featuring local weekly
performances by Zeds Dead and The Killabits as
well as international acts like Skrillex, Nero, Borgore,
Bare Noize, and Camo & Crooked, to name a few.
In 2013 Zeds Dead released their breakout
EP Hot Sauce through Diplo’s Mad Decent label,
which quickly placed them on the international
EDM circuit. A short year later, the young
producers showed off their knack for collaboration by
working closely with Toronto-based rapper Omar LinX
as well as other well known artists like Twin Shadow, Big
Gigantic, Bright Lights, and Dirtyphonics to release their
EP Somewhere Else to much critical acclaim.
Northern Lights is the first original LP from the
Zeds Dead camp and showcases a striking compilation
of musical genres and partnerships from beginning
to end. Listening to it, the bass and dubstep genres
that some of the first Zeds Dead fans initially fell
in love with merge with party-ready electro-house
tracks, calming soundscapes, and that fusion of hiphop
the pair is known for, to create both a cohesive
and encompassing sound. With vocal features
from a haphazard collection of artists including
Weezer’s frontman Rivers Cuomo, rapper Pusha
T, Swedish rapper Elliphant, Jadakiss, and Freddie
Gibbs, it all somehow
works together on the
album. “I’m really
proud of who we got
to collaborate with
for Northern Lights,”
explains Rapp-Rovan.
“We collaborated
with [so many] of the
people we looked up to
growing up listening to
music. We’ve wanted to
make our own album
since we started Zeds
Dead. It’s just the way
it went that we ended
up releasing remixes
and EPs instead.”
Two years in the making, the pair decided
to lighten their show time having been touring
nonstop since 2010 to dedicate the necessary
studio time to work on the album. “We wanted to
make a real album that was kind of like the stuff
that we grew up on, where it wasn’t just a collection
of songs, it was more like something you could
listen to front to back [that] was cohesive and told
a story. Northern Lights is representative of the
feeling that we were going for.”
While the backdrop of the album is very
moody, mysterious, and dark, the bright range
of vocalists guide the listener through the album
like the beguiling shimmer of the aurora borealis
itself. “Sort of like beauty in darkness, if you want to
call it that. It’s interpretative but it’s definitely dark, but
there are light moments, and it’s not all super serious,”
concludes Rapp-Rovan. “We did our best to put
together a cohesive piece of work. It took two years and
we made a lot of music before narrowing it down to the
best of what represents what Zeds Dead [truly] is.”
According to Rapp-Rovan, the most
challenging track for them to create was most
definitely “Stardust,” featuring synthpop singer
and producer Twin
Shadow. “We went
through so many different
phases. We knew that we
had something really
dope and there was a
lot of experimentation.
In the end I think we
came up with a really
cool piece of music that
isn’t easy to place or put
in a box,” he explains.
Released just last
month, Northern
Lights was also
the first release on
Deadbeats, the official
musical imprint of Zeds Dead. “We’ve wanted
to have a record label for a really long time now.
[Just] to be able to release our own music as well
as put out artists that we think are really great,”
says Rapp-Rovan. “We’ve always been kind of
do-it-yourself so it just furthers that story.” So
far, the label has also rolled out the debut EP of
French electro producer Nebbra and plans to also
release a compilation of songs from promising upand-coming
artists that Deadbeats has picked set
to come out at the end of the year or early 2017.
The label won’t be limiting their releases to just
electronic music either. “We’ve always been hiphop
heads and we definitely want to showcase that
side of us,” says Rapp-Rovan. More than a record
label, Deadbeats will also act as a community for
like-minded artists, a literal expansion of the Zeds
Dead world.
Having just released a music video for their
single “Too Young” off of Northern Lights, the
creative duo wants to send a message to their fans
using the pastel-coloured, hash-tag adorned
stop-animation by artist Chris Ullens as their
means of delivery. “It’s a critique on our overuse
of social media,” states Rapp-Rovan. As artists
that first released their music via Myspace and
have seen social media, and media in general,
evolve at breakneck speeds, the song is pretty
on point with the social media conundrum our
generation faces. The claymation in the video, like the
catchy song itself, appears attractive and bright where
the dark lyrics and even darker motifs catch you
off-guard. Much like social media has changed,
the electronic music scene has transformed
almost past recognition since Zeds Dead first
started producing music, and yet, Rapp-Rovan says
they’re not worried. “I think we [just like to] keep
to ourselves and stay in our own world, and it hasn’t
failed us yet.”
The industrious pair plans to take it easy
in the New Year after hitting up multiple
cities across North America and Europe on the
Northern Lights tour. The dynamic duo has
collaborated with Strange Loop (the company
behind Flying Lotus’ psychedelic visuals)
for some very trippy production to unleash
on the audience. “Generally our sets are
almost completely our own music and the visual
accompaniment that we have goes perfectly with
it,” Rapp-Rovan promises. “It’s going to be a real
audio-visual experience.”
Zeds Dead performs at Contact Winter Music Festival at
BC Place on December 26th.
20
December 2016

FLUME
Australian producer Flume, known
personally as Harley Edward Streten,
has been enthralling electronic music
fans since his first critically acclaimed,
double-platinum studio album, Flume,
released in 2012. His innovative,
matchless work fluctuates between
experimental, electro-pop, hip-hop, and
future bass. His second chart-topping
studio album, Skin, was released earlier
this year to more critical acclaim and
features the popular single “Never Be
Like You” with Canadian vocalist Kai.
BeatRoute’s must-see acts
KAROLINA KAPUSTA & VANESSA TAM
After a successful summer festival circuit, local dance music fans were left
looking forward to the reveal of one of Vancouver’s largest winter music events.
Contact Winter Music Festival’s lineup this year is loaded with something for
everyone and takes place at British Columbia’s largest venue, BC Place. Here you
can check out our eight must-see acts on this year’s festival, and wrap up the
holiday season dancing with your crew to some of the top sounds in EDM today.
MIJA
Born in Phoenix, Arizona, Mija, also known as
Amber Giles, is an electronic music producer,
DJ, and promoter who first became popular
by playing a back-to-back set with Skrillex
back in 2014. Not wanting to be categorized,
Mija describes her sets as “fk a genre” and
regularly traverses everything from trap and
heavy bass to disco, bounce, and beyond.
BIG WILD
Well known for his distinctly atmospheric,
groove-driven tracks, Matt Collar, who
produces music under the name Big Wild,
is an incredibly talented electronic
music DJ, producer, composer, and
engineer. Inspired by the natural beauty
of Northern California, the young artist
is known to mix his computer-based
recordings with live piano, drums,
guitars, and other instruments on stage
during his performances.
ZEDS DEAD
Zeds Dead is a bass-fueled Canadian
electronic music duo that has worked
relentlessly to make an imprint on the
global electronic music scene. Over
an onslaught of EPs and remixes over
the years, they have recently released
their first studio album Northern Lights
which is a prime example of their edgy
and untouchable sound – a medley of
dubstep, trap, hip-hop, and drum & bass.
DISCLOSURE
Grammy nominated brothers Howard
and Guy Lawrence are two English
electronic music producers that are
most commonly known together
as Disclosure. Gaining international
recognition for their debut studio album
Settle, the hysteria currently surrounding
the project first came to light almost
solely based on the success of their single
“Latch” featuring Sam Smith, which later
helped launch the album to the number
one spot on both the UK and US Dance/
Electronic Album Charts.
MARSHMELLO
Marshmello, like this producer’s
name suggests, doles out fluffy gooey
electronic music goodness with every
song he releases. The mysteriously
masked music maker (whose identity
remains anonymous) creates happygo-lucky
synth-filled dance music and
originally blew up in 2015 after remixing
songs by Zedd and Jack Ü, while also
releasing his own original singles
“Summer” and “Alone.”
DREZO
Los Angeles-based Drezo, or just
Andre to his friends, is known for the
signature deep house style he brings
to his sets throughout the underground
music scene. The unique sound that
he has created continues to innovate
house music with equal parts ominous,
repetitive, and impulsively driven beats.
HUCCI
Although not much is generally known
about the UK based trap producer
Hucci aside from his first name probably
being Oliver, all you really need to know
is that his hard hitting bass heavy tracks
supplemented by intermittent showers
of hi hats and soaring vocal drops will
truly knock you on your ass.
Contact Winter Music Festival 2016
takes place December 26-27 at BC Place
single bill
$11
DECEMBER HIGHLIGHTS
double bill
$16
DEC 1- 9
BEST FILM OF THE 21st CENTURY?
MULHOLLAND DRIVE
DEC 10 - 14
BY / WITH / ABO U T
FASSBI N DER
DEC 15 - 19
December 2016 ELECTRONICS DEPT.
21

AESOP ROCK
when you write about seclusion and some buyers finally tune in
Photo by Ben Colen
WILLOW GRIER
A lone figure huddles beneath giant bat
wings. Just above their peaked tips are
dozens of serpentine eyes, nefariously
reaching claws, jagged brambles and
slimy tentacles, writhing forth from a
cloak of darkness. This ominous scene
is the visual representation of Aesop
Rock’s latest album, The Impossible
Kid, as brought to life by historically
imaginative artist Alex Pardee.
The artwork is symbolic, first,
speaking to the crushing weight of a
year of tumult. 2016 has taken with both
hands, with great losses felt throughout
the music community, coupled with
political and social upheaval. Some
remarked that the apocalypse was upon
us. Secondly, the artwork speaks to
the personal struggles Ian Bavitz (Aes
himself) has faced over the past few
years, brought to life in arguably his
most personal release to date.
“I wanted it to feel like a person’s
desire to isolate,” says Bavitz of the
visual Pardee actualized. “Feeling like
the environment was coming alive.
Like being alone in a place you don’t
know, and sensing that maybe there’s
something out there. Letting any little
bump in the night become exaggerated
in your head.”
This reflected the experience Bavitz
had while writing The Impossible Kid, as
he retreated to a cabin in the woods,
with only his cat Kirby (who has its own
song on the album) for company, and
the overwhelming silence of isolation.
Bavitz details this account on “Rabies,”
reminiscent of Kerouac’s Big Sur, in all its
introspection-turning-to-madness.
Bavitz discusses his isolated writing
process and how The Impossible Kid fits
into his repertoire: “I go dark, over-think,
and make shit. That’s sorta the cycle I live
in. I wouldn’t know how to judge which
of my works is more or less personal...
They all kind of consume me at the
time.” He continues: “I had a handful
of years which resulted in some losses,
and had the opportunity to get away for
a second, so I took it. I’ve lived in some
amazing cities, but there is occasionally
the feeling that you need to ‘keep up’
with what’s going on in these places
in a way that is counterproductive for
me. Once I start to feel like I’m in a
competition every time I step outside
my home, it’s time to move on.”
Although the album is touted
as coming from a place of darkness,
there is a lightness that peeks through,
along with the clever humour that sets
Aesop Rock apart (“Lotta Years,” for
example). For instance, Bavitz has rediscovered
his love for drawing (which
he discusses in the track “Rings”) and
skateboarding, and this has become a
fresh source of inspiration.
“Skateboarding is 100 per cent
responsible for everything I am today,”
Bavitz states. “That is how I always
identified, and growing up it was who
I felt most comfortable around. It was
something that attracted a pretty
diverse group; all types of weirdoes and
creative minds and people into art and
music and all that shit.”
Additionally, Bavitz has taken on
the role of sole producer, having largely
worked with collaborators previously.
“Being in control of every sound and lyric
allows me to feel like the final product is
truly mine, instead of saying ‘Here is my
solo record’ when I only really did 50 per
cent or less of the actual legwork,” he
explains. “If it’s awful, at least it’s mine. If
it’s great - wonderful. I hope the passion
I have is clear and that people know
that whatever they hear is not gonna be
some bullshit. I work my ass off.”
For decades, Aesop Rock has
been making hip hop for intellectuals
and weirdoes. His honesty creates instantly
relatable moments to offset even the
most outlandish settings. His wordplay is
so complex it’s often hard to keep up with,
but after settling into its subtle nuances,
it’s impossible not to appreciate.
“I love reading science news
and seeing what we as humans are
discovering,” he describes of his
inspiration. “And watching people who
really get into shit, no matter what it is.
If you make the best risotto, and that’s
your passion, and I can tell, then I can
watch you talk about that shit all day.”
Whether waxing philosophic on the
dissolution of Pluto’s status as a planet,
taking the listener into the mind of a sea
swept sailor encountering a mermaid,
or wryly discussing the awkwardness of
being in therapy (“Shrunk”), he never
Self-produced new album a step towards greater ownership of his craft.
takes the same path twice.
Given his standing as an icon of
the underground rap world, BeatRoute
asked Bavitz what his thoughts were
regarding the future of Trump’s America
and what it means for the world of
counter-culture.
“Trump is an abomination,” Bavitz
replies. “I guess what I sometimes
struggle with is the choice of [spending]
my time and energy speaking out
against this awful man and what I
believe it means for us as a society, or
[recognizing] that that’s a losing battle,
and just doing my best to spread what I
believe to be positivity in an attempt to
make people realize that all is not lost.”
“Countercultures thrive when
mainstream culture is a disgusting place
- and when I think of what has helped
me personally throughout my life, it
was never someone berating me about
what I should and shouldn’t believe,” he
continues. “It was people showing me
that there is other shit out there.”
The Impossible Kid is a prime
example of something bright
coming from darkness. Upon further
examination of its telling album art,
perhaps one can ascertain that the lone
figure is actually taking his own bizarre
features and harnessing them into a
superpower. A striking reminder that
what many think to be impossible can
become reality, if you know how to look
at the whole picture.
Aesop Rock plays the Starlite Room
in Edmonton on December 16th, The
Gateway in Calgary on December 17th,
and Venue Nightclub in Vancouver on
December 19th.
MACHINEDRUM
a celebration of life and positive human energy
HOLLIE MCGOWAN
Machinedrum has escalated to a
new stage in his career, and with his
latest release on Ninja Tune, Human
Energy, he is inviting everyone to join
him. “I wanted to create an album that
embodied a feeling [of unity] by having
a more uplifting and celebratory nature
sonically,” explains Travis Stewart, aka
Machinedrum, from his new home in Los
Angeles. “The album is a celebration of life
and of the positive energy that everybody
has [the] potential to tap into.”
For the past 15 years, Stewart has
developed a reputation for his ability to
traverse across a variety of electronic
music genres while maintaining a
high calibre. Under his solo moniker
Machinedrum or in collaboration with
other artists like, Om Unit as Dream
Continuum, Jimmy Edgar as JETS, or with
Praveen Sharma as Sepalcure, Stewart
has proven himself to be both versatile
and a true master of percussion.
Through a series of recent events in
his personal world, Stewart began taking
a new approach to life thereby adding a
more positive and uplifting element to
his sound. “The whole approach to this
album in general was sort of a naïve kid’s
approach to learning about these new age
concepts,” tells Stewart. “I wanted to have
fun with it rather than just bore people
with all the details [of new age ideas]
which can usually push people away.”
A return to alternative therapeutic
practices such as reiki and guided
meditation, not to mention a recent
engagement to his partner, paved the
way for an inner transformation which
is reflected in Human Energy. “A lot of
it happened unconsciously,” he shares.
“When I was writing the album, I was just
going with the flow and [didn’t] really
give it too much thought. I was kind of
leaving my body, as I do whenever I’m
writing songs, and tapping into another
plane of existence.”
New experimentations with
sound and a deeper connection to the
subconscious led Stewart to incorporate
the connection between sound and
colour in his work. “I have a synesthetic
relationship with music. Whenever I
hear music that really speaks to me
it puts pictures in my mind. Certain
sounds have tones and colours for me.”
Not too long ago, Stewart tried his
own hand at producing music for the
alternative healing arts, and then shared
the instrumental track made for guided
meditation with his online followers. “I
actually made that tonal piece to help
me meditate when I was writing the
album,” he says. “I would start everyday
by listening to it while meditating for 15
minutes, then I would start working on
music. It was a palate cleanser in a way. It
really helped clear my mind and be able to
focus without thinking about everything
else that was going on in my life.”
With a new direction in the studio,
Stewart also collaborated with artists
Strangeloop and Timeboy to create
an audio-visual experience fit for his
performance. A desire to “hit people
with energy” by utilizing projections of
colour in finely calculated ways on the
dance floor, Stewart is hoping to give
his audiences more than just a party. “I
want people to feel like they’re present
and connected to the music. Rather
than it [just] being about me and what
I’m doing, I want people to feel like
they’re all [in it] together.”
Machinedrum performs at Fortune
Sound Club December 29th
22 ELECTRONICS DEPT.
December 2016

The best way to countdown to
December 25? With beer, of course.
And since Vancouver is such a fertile
breeding ground for the craft variety,
it’s a perfect way to both support
local and get into the holiday spirit.
BeatRoute hit some of the city’s finest
breweries to find the tastiest seasonal
offerings to celebrate with.
33 ACRES BREWING
33 Acres of Ocean - West Coast Pale
Christmas brings about feelings of
nostalgia and this beer fills that need
quite well. It’s a West Coast style pale
ale that has a nice pine/evergreen
flavour that has a bit of hop kick
without being overpowering. It’s a
drinkable beer that has a refreshing
citrus flavor, and that pine touch will
remind one of the Pacific Northwest
and keep with the season nicely. (GW)
While 33 Acres avoids falling into
the stereotypical seasonal trap, that
doesn’t mean that their beer has
no seasonal aspects. Says 33 Acres
manager, Dustin Sepkowski, “It’s
important that seasonal brews will
interest us and encourage us to try
them, but also to have our core staples
be just that. A beer that is clean and
drinkable, and the consistency to earn
the trust of beer drinkers.” 33 Acres
of Darkness is a seasonal favourite,
selling much more during the winter
months than otherwise. It’s a black
ale that while isn’t super strong, nor
super thick, provides the comforting
warmth that’s perfect for the cold
months—warm and satisfying
without being filling. (GW)
Having trouble dealing with in-laws,
or other family members? Maybe 33
Acres of Euphoria is the right beer for
you. It’s super strong at 9.2% so it will
get you buzzed quite quickly, but it’s
delicious banana and spice flavour
will make it enjoyable to drink down.
It’s strong but not overpoweringly so.
It’s got a spiciness that will encourage
drinking and an alcohol content that
will make sure you’re going to be able
to handle whatever your gross uncle
has to say. (GW)
PARALLEL 49 BREWING
This dark and warm milk stout is
light in alcohol, but rich in flavour.
Sweetened with lactose (milk sugar)
and chocolate, it leaves a pleasantly
lingering coffee aftertaste. (KN)
A sea salted and caramel Scotch
12 BEERS OF CHRISTMAS
Ale, Salty Scot is a darker brew that
maintains a harmonious balance
between its two flavours. (KN)
Toques of Hazzard — an Imperial White
IPA — has a malty tartness that’s not
quite sour, with flavours of gooseberry
to keep the brew light bodied. (KN)
Along with these brews, Parallel 49 is
also offering a Season’s Greetings case in
partnership with Central City Brewing,
which features 24 different beers — one
for every day of the advent calendar.
R&B BREWING
It’s just not winter without a seasonal
stout and R&B is delivering one with
a twist. Served on nitro, the Dark
Star Stout is smooth, creamy, and
surprisingly mellow for a stout. Not too
heavy — very Guinness like in terms
of comparison — with rich notes of
chocolate and coffee. (JE)
For those that like their stouts strong, this
is the beer they are looking for. The Ursos
Arctos is a Russian Imperial stout with a
hard hitting 10.4% and 70 IBU. Very rich,
very heavy, and with super concentrated
caramel notes, the Ursos Arctos is a very
complex tasting beer with layers of flavour
that hit you in waves as you drink it. Not for
the faint of heart, but one of the best beers
you will taste this winter. (JE)
STRANGE FELLOWS BREWING
A brewery that never fails to challenge
themselves and the palette of their
consumer, Strange Fellows Brewing is
featuring two limited release holiday
JOSHUA ERICKSON, KEIR NICOLL, GRAEME WIGGINS & ERIN JARDINE
seasonals that explore the dark side of
folklore themes and quirky traditions.
For example, their principal holiday
beer is an ode to the anti-father
Christmas, Krampus himself. “We
actually have a Krampus costume
that one of our bartenders made, you
can come here in December with kids
and have a photo on the throne with
Krampus, and we made at least four or
five kids cry,” laughs head brewmaster,
Iain Hill. If you’ve seen Krampus, you’ll
know why kids are crying. The beer is
a Belgian Abbey Dubbel. “It’s not a
hoppy beer, more based on malt and
yeast flavours,” Hill adds. “It needs
to age a long time and we made it
months ago. It’s brewed in the historic
style of Belgian monasteries — like a
Trappist ale.” (EJ)
The second winter seasonal is Boris,
a Russian Imperiale Stout. Strange
Fellows experiments extensively with
aging beers and attaining flavours
through a barrel, and Boris is the beer
that puts Strange Fellows through
its paces. (EJ)
STRATHCONA BREWING
COMPANY
Don’t be alarmed by the high ABV of
this local take on a classic Belgian style.
Relative newcomers to Vancouver’s
bountiful craft beer scene, Strathcona
Beer Company’s strikingly authentic
version of this dark, malty treat of
an ale is a lip-smacking gift boasting
a robust, rich flavour that avoids the
overly complex palate distractions
some Belgian Abbey ales tend to get lost
in. Accessible to both those seasoned in
the expansive world of Belgian beers,
and to others who’ve never heard of
world-renowned ales such as Chimay or
La Chouffe, this single-batch Dubbel
is highly drinkable — dangerously so.
As a beer style sometimes recreated
less-accurately than others by
craft breweries, it’s impressive and
appreciated to have such a faithful
rendition of one of the tastiest, winterappropriate
brews available right in
our Eastside backyard. Made with
dark Belgian candy sugar imported
directly from Belgium, this Dubbel is
sweet, reaffirming, and (be careful
— remember the ABV!) worthy of
repeat refills. (WT)
BRASSNECK BREWERY
Six years ago, on Beatty street, stood a
well-regarded brewpub by the name
of Dix BBQ & Brewery. Following its
closure, the brewers moved on to
other projects, but they’ve kept the
spirit of Dix alive with the help of
Nigel Springthorpe and Brassneck
Brewery, through a yearly tradition
of a collaboration in the muchloved
Pacific Northwest IPA
style called the Spirit of DIXmas.
Brassneck, one of Vancouver’s
premier craft breweries, actually
operates using Dix’s brewing
system, having purchased it
following the closing of Dix’s doors.
As the very first IPA produced
by the Main St. brewery, Spirit of
DIXmas is a lovely, welcome addition
to BC’s massively varied IPA family. It’s
strong (as expected), aromatic, and
flowing with flavour notes running
from pine to citrus and beyond.
Made with Centennial, Citra and
Simcoe hops, Spirit of DIXmas is
an excellently balanced IPA with
that requisite light-handed touch
of bitterness that leaves you
craving another glass. Get down to
Brassneck before it’s sold out. (WT)
FEATURED CONCERTS
VICTORIA, BC
FUNK THE HALLS
WITH THE FUNK HUNTERS
PLUS DIRTY RADIO AND
ASTROCOLOR (DJ SET)
SUGAR NIGHTCLUB
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9
THE JON AND ROY
HOLIDAY SPECIAL
WITH GUESTS DANIEL WESLEY,
FOX GLOVE, AND FINTAN O’BRIEN
ALIX GOOLDEN HALL
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10
SONREAL
PLUS GUESTS
SUGAR NIGHTCLUB
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2
USS
PLUS REPARTEE AND GUESTS
ALIX GOOLDEN HALL
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 9
& SUNDAY FEBRUARY 12
FUNK THE HALLS
WITH THE FUNK HUNTERS
PLUS PIGEON HOLE AND
ASTROCOLOR (DJ SET)
SUGAR NIGHTCLUB
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10
NEW YEARS EVE WITH
JESSE ROPER
AND GUESTS DEEP SEA GYPSIES
AND NO LIARS
SUGAR NIGHTCLUB
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31
BENJAMIN
FRANCIS
LEFTWICH
PLUS GUESTS
SUGAR NIGHTCLUB
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5
POLYRHYTHMICS
PLUS GUESTS
SUGAR NIGHTCLUB
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24
FOR FULL CONCERT LISTINGS & TO PURCHASE
TICKETS, PLEASE VISIT:
WWW.ATOMIQUEPRODUCTIONS.COM
FACEBOOK /ATOMIQUEPRODUCTIONS TWITTER @ATOMIQUEEVENTS
December 2016 CITY
23

CREEPS
the Canadian play that shook the ground and opened minds
MADDY CRISTALL
From December 1-10, the Vancouver
based Realwheels Theatre presents
their production of Creeps. Creeps
is a controversial, ground-breaking,
and subversive play that transformed
Canadian theatre by offering a unique
perspective on living with a disability.
The play was written in 1971 by David
E. Freeman who, as someone who lived
with cerebral palsy, wrote the entire play
by typewriter, which he worked with a
stick held between his teeth.
Creeps is a story of four disabled
men who spend their days brooding
in a gruelling and insulated workshop.
After growing tired of the way they are
treated, they rebel by holing themselves
up in the warehouse washroom. In there,
they indulge in gossip and smoking, while
liberating themselves by rejecting the
institutionalized conduct they’ve been
subjected to. In the original production
in the 1970s, Freeman personally coached
the actors so that they would not be seen
to simply impersonate the disabilities
associated with the condition. The
play also has the educational purpose
to inform the audience about the
causes and symptoms of cerebral
palsy. The unapologetic honesty and
audaciousness of the script is both
hilarious and heartbreaking, and the
sarcastic dialogue encapsulates a blend
of cruelty and transparency into this
understudied world.
24 CITY
Directed by the innovative Brian
Cochrane (52 Pick-up, Wide Awake
Hearts, Speech & Debate), Creeps’
casting features actors both with and
without disabilities and includes, from
the disabled community, Paul Beckett,
Adam Grant Warren, and Aaron
Roderick, alongside David A. Kaye and
Genevieve Fleming.
Creeps includes some outdated
language that may “Raise some
interesting questions and cause
controversy,” says producer Rena
Cohen, but it gave a voice to a
misunderstood community in a
particularly complex time in a world
that remains prejudiced. Cohen
describes that the characters feel
that they’re “the toilet of humanity”
and that “the play is an argument
between those that are protesting the
structures between those disabilities.”
She explains: “it’s a dark comedy that
deals with difficult subjects, it is also
an opportunity to recognize how far we
have come over the past 45 years.”
A powerful and fresh display of
the fight against oppression through a
brutally honest lens, Creeps brings some
sense of the difficulty of living with a
disability to light in the powerful form
of live theatre.
Creeps runs from December 1-10 at the
Historic Theatre. Tickets are two for one
on December 3, which is the International
Day of Persons with Disabilities.
Photo by Tim Matheson
Creeps fearlessly embraces dark humor within the search for humanity with a disability
FOLIOSA
going green has never been so easy
ADEY OKOYOMON
Listen up plant lovers: Foliosa is about to
become your new favourite gardening
company. Based out of Vancouver,
they specialize in setting up indoor
gardens — and creating the plant
wonderland of your dreams.
“I had the idea for what is
now Foliosa a couple of years ago
when I was studying landscape
horticulture,” says founder Britt
Wainwright. “It was a very tiny
idea and it took me a while to figure
out exactly what I wanted Foliosa to
become. Plants can be scary because
they are living things and most people
don’t have the time to nurture them.
So, you see a lot of spaces with the
wrong plants and they are getting over
or under watered. I want to change that
by making the right plant choices for
spaces and I also offer the service of caring
for them, like a plant mom.”
Foliosa doesn’t stop at installing
Rebel Soup gives the ugly food of the world
a chance to be part of something great.
plants in your home or office — they
also help you look after them, coming
in to water, dust, and clip, and ensuring
that the plants flourish and receive
proper nutrition. Say farewell to
unknowingly killing your plants.
Wainwright’s hope is to collaborate
with and promote local makers. Along
with beautifying homes, Foliosa has
garnished venues like the American
and Tacofino with greenery. “When
styling for permanent containers, I put
emphasis on adding plants that
are best for the space by making
sure they can thrive in their
environment.” Wainwright says. “I
take into account what the client is looking
for — it’s important to me to understand
their vision, if they have one — and blend
it with what I think will look beautiful and
function within the space.”
“With event styling there’s more wiggle
room for getting a bit wild. Since you’re not
worrying about long term plantings, you get
more creative freedom,” she adds.
Suffice it to say, we now all have a fairy
plant-mother in Britt Wainwright.
Learn more about Foliosa and their
services at foliosa.org.
REBEL SOUP
challenging perceptions one bowl at a time
ADRIA LEDUC
“We don’t believe in conventional
standards, and in buying Rebel Soup,
you’re taking a stand with us,”
says Amanda Slater, who aims to
challenge the perception that “ugly”
produce has no value.
Combining her background in
holistic nutrition and the support
of a social venture entrepreneurship
program, Slater has transformed
what started out as a home-based
soup club into Rebel Soup, a small
business on a mission to tackle
f arm-level food waste through
the simple process of making
soup.
Rebel Soup works directly with
local farmers to buy their unsellable
produce, which can amount to
between 30 and 40 percent of what
they grow. These vegetables, though
perfectly nutritious, cannot be sold
to supermarkets because they do
not meet aesthetic standards. In
contrast to the aisles of uniform,
blemish-free produce found in
supermarkets, Rebel Soup embraces
unwanted, uniquely shaped veggies
and transforms them into nourishing
vegan soups.
“Don’t be fooled by a pureed
vegan soup!” asserts Slater. The soups
are hearty, packed with roughly a
pound of veggies in every jar, often
Britt Wainwright uses her green thumb to
save the lives of green things everywhere.
combined with ingredients such as
nut milks and organic beans for fiber
and protein. Slater chooses spices and
combinations that bring out the natural
flavours of the vegetables in an effort to
deepen the connection between people
and their food.
Since its launch in early October,
Rebel Soup has quickly gained
momentum. Slater hopes to have the
soups carried by a few cafes and small
retailers in the new year. Currently, the
soups are available through the online
soup club at rebelsoup.ca, where you
can select your flavours and have the
option of delivery or pickup. Rebel
Soup will also be a vendor at the first
annual Kitsilano Winter Market, held
at Kits House on December 3.
Rebel Soup aims to bring
awareness to food waste issues by
providing a convenient meal option
that has a real impact. “Our mandate
is ‘good for the environment, good
for the farmers, good for you,’” Slater
says. “We want to make sure that
the farmers are being paid. We
want to reduce the amount of
food that’s being wasted and be
able to provide a very accessible,
nutritious meal for people.”
Learn more about and purchase Rebel
Soup at rebelsoup.ca.
December 2016

KEITHMAS VII
a legendary party for the legend himself
SADIE VADNAIS
“If you can remember Keithmas then
you weren’t there!” jokes Jon Hewer, the
man behind the party of the season. “It’s
become our de facto motto for the event.”
In its seventh consecutive year, the
event that combines Keith Richards’
birthday and Christmas is only growing,
giving the rock and roll junkies of
Vancouver a place to get their ya-yas
out, knowing that they’re giving back
to some of the people that need it most
this winter season — the beneficiaries
of the Greater Vancouver Food Bank.
“This kind of started as a lark
seven years ago,” remembers Hewer.
“We thought it would be a fun night.
By the time the night arrived it had
morphed into this whole other thing
where the sum was greater than the
parts. We raised $800 bucks and five
boxes of food and had so much fun that
we immediately said we have to do it
again next year. And now here we are,
seven years into it, and have raised over
$30,000 for the Food Bank!”
Beyond the charity of the evening,
there’s plenty to get into on the night
itself through raffles and auctions. Last
year they auctioned off Richards’ pants.
The moment the name was called for
the winner, the whole theatre went wild
— a consistent occurrence throughout
the evening.
With the support of many,
Keithmas is a consistent must for
partiers. With an eclectic musical lineup
— which, this year, includes Rich Hope
performing songs from the Rolling
Stones’ album Some Girls — the event is
sure to give a proper tribute to the man
of the hour.
“We tend to get all the credit as
organizers, but really the bands are what
makes it so special,” says Hewer. “Without
the artists generously giving all of their
time there is no Keithmas. And lastly, on
December 16th, let’s raise a glass (or a bottle)
of JD to the human riff master himself, the
indestructible Keith Richards, without
whom this event wouldn’t exist!”
A worthy toast, to be sure.
Keithmas VII takes place on December
16 at the Rickshaw Theatre.
THE AMERICAN
new venue with a no-bullshit attitude aims to reinvigorate Vancouver nightlife
NOOR KHWAJA
In the wearisome bar scene of
downtown Vancouver, finding your goto
hangout is no easy feat. The city’s
newest watering hole, the American, is
attempting to establish a new pocket
of nightlife that will hopefully refresh
this monotony.
Simon Fallick, one of the
pub’s owners, discusses his and his
team’s collective aim to create “An
atmosphere that’s not easily found
in Vancouver.” The casual and playful
interior of the American will be “an
inviting type of space for people to
come and enjoy,” catering to those
who are tired of “going to clubs and
grimy bars.” Fallick explains that the
space will be the perfect spot to
just “listen to some great music
and shoot pool without having
to get dressed up or worry about
dealing with shit heads.”
The location of the American
on 926 Main Street is a story in
itself. The building is over 100 years
old and was, at one point, home
to an infamous hotel by the same
name. After being a notorious spot
for criminal activity in its heyday, it
has since been refurbished, adding
new additions to the neighborhood.
The last of these was Electric Owl,
a Japanese izakaya-style venue
that eventually shut down and was
purchased by the new owners of the
American.
While chatting about Electric
Owl’s closure, Fallick emphasizes
that “The promise for something
special was always there.” The
main difference between the
American and its former inhabitant
is that, unlike Electric Owl, the
aim of the new space isn’t to be a
live music venue, but rather, “to
create something where you [can]
just go and be yourself and have
fun.” The subtler styles of events
at the American include pop-up
restaurants, as well as DJ sets on
the weekends. With the addition
of arcade machines, the team also
plans to potentially host gaming
events at the pub.
Whether you want to watch a
big game in a friendly environment
or catch up with some friends, the
American offers a lighthearted
and fun space to unwind. As
Fallick jokingly refers to it, the new
“Cambie for adults” is sure to bring
something special to this “vibrant
part of the city.”
The American is located at 926
Main Street.
DEC
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DECEMBER
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DEC
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DEC
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DEC
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DEC
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DEC
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JAN
30
JAN
1
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8
THE GEEKENDERS PRESENT
RICHARD O'BRIEN'S
ROCKY HORROR SHOW
LIVE!
THE GENTLEMEN HECKLERS PRESENT
DIE HARD 2
PARK CHAN-WOOK DOUBLE FEATURE
THE HANDMAIDEN + OLDBOY
EDWARD SCISSORHANDS
LEONARD COHEN
TRIBUTE CONCERT
LIVE MUSIC, DANCE, POETRY AND MORE!
PARTIAL PROCEEDS TO
THE VANCOUVER FOOD BANK
MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO
THE PRINCESS BRIDE
LABYRINTH
MIKHAIL KALATOZOV'S
I AM CUBA ('SOY CUBA')
YULETIDE DOUBLE BILL!
ELF
HOW THE GRINCH
STOLE CHRISTMAS (2000)
THE FICTIONALS COMEDY COMPANY PRESENTS
IMPROV AGAINST HUMANITY
HO HO HOLIDAY SPECIAL
#IAHATRIO
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
GREMLINS
THE SOUND OF MUSIC
DIE HARD
NATIONAL LAMPOON'S
CHRISTMAS VACATION
BAD SANTA
STANLEY KUBRICK'S
THE SHINING
HOLIDAY HANGOVER TRIPLE FEATURE!
SHAUN OF THE DEAD
THE BIG LEBOWSKI
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
PAUL ANTHONY'S
TALENT TIME
FIRST THURSDAY OF EVERY MONTH!
THE 2017 GOLDEN GLOBE
AWARDS
LIVE & FREE ON THE BIG SCREEN
December 2016 CITY
25

Winter Wellness
Winter may well be the hardest season to stay on top of our overall health. For most of us, we’re stuck indoors
and, when we’re not, soggy weather and frigid temperatures put us in danger of catching a cold. Motivation
for going outside and getting exercise is often lacking, especially in light of holiday parties, copious amounts
of alcohol, and days filled with delicious indulgences. Plus, seasonal depression is a very real mental health
issue — and is at its crux. All things considered, it’s especially important not to be sparing with yourself in
body, mind, and spirit. So, we consulted a few local experts for insight on how to keep well this winter.
HOLISTIC NUTRITIONIST CHLOE ELGAR
understanding the connection between physical and spiritual
KIM BUDZIAK
Open books are hard to come by, even
in the age of Instagram. There is quoting
Rumi and then there is understanding
what the hell you’re actually quoting.
There is surface open and then there
is deep open. Chloe Elgar is the deep
blue Pacific kind of open. Her sense of
humour blankets company in an instant
state of ease, without detracting from
her unmistakably human demeanour.
“You have to meet people where
they’re at,” she says warmly. “Small
steps. If I tell them to go put their
crystals outside in the morning are
they going to think I’m a wacko?”
Probably. But then again, mysticore
is trending.
Elgar’s approach to health,
however, will have the energy to
carry her through the next wave
of amethyst and quartz carriers
(but she’s into it, in case you were
wondering). From her conflictheavy
upbringing and psychology
background, Elgar finds herself today
in happier, healthier territory: holistic
nutrition. She’s part psych major, part
public figure, part intuitive healer, and
part writer, among other things. Everything
she says makes so much sense, it seems wise
she should publish a how-to-be-you manual.
Actually, she did: Living in Light.
She easily toes the line between
personal and professional, drawing her
authority from a place of vulnerability,
sharing her struggle with an eating
disorder and anxiety boldly on her
website, Chloe’s Countertop, alongside
useful advice, recipes, and her podcast,
Conscious Conversations. It’s all part of
her larger belief in an integrative approach
to health and wellness that includes
practitioners outside of her realm of
expertise (osteopath, chiropractor, MD),
as well as spiritual discovery.
“All of our weight and body issues,
all that physical stuff is connected
with the spiritual, the emotional,” she
explains. “You can follow a diet or eating
plan, but it’s not sustainable unless you
face the reasons you’ve had to turn to
it in the first place.” She speaks bluntly
about the big missing piece she sees
blocking people looking to get healthy:
the inner child.
“It’s going back to your childhood
to look at where and how belief
systems were created so you can start
to understand why it is we do what we
do. If someone told you when you were
younger that there are starving children
in Africa, so you should eat everything
on your plate, then overeating, binge
eating, and not knowing when you’re full
can actually come from that moment.”
In Elgar’s world, we always have
a choice. “Either your body is going to
be the waste bin, or the garbage is,” she
says, encouraging her clients to trust
their bodies to let them know when
they’re full, not full, and what they’re
really craving.
“I know I am not for everyone,”
she admits. “And not everyone is for
me. I just have to be really authentic
within myself so I can help people as
best as I can. Intuition and spirituality
and emotional practice is really
important. It took me years to get this
stuff and really embrace it.”
Her clients, followers, and even
first-time acquaintances can find solace
in the fact that Elgar will match their
output and then some, sharing when
they share, listening when they need an
ear, and gently guiding them through
their dark baggage, back into the light,
crystal-assisted or not.
To find more about holistic nutrition, contact
Chloe Elgar at chloescountertop.com.
YOGA
the quiet practice of self-care
WILLEM THOMAS
With the onset of winter, it’s common
to sequester inside and fall into a
social-hibernation state of cancelled
commitments and avoided friends. It
becomes alarmingly easy to slack off on
looking after yourself and maintaining
any level of self-care — something
everyone needs.
One of the best ways to enact selfcare
is to do something that makes
you feel content and comforted.
Yoga has been proven to be a prime
opponent of stress and depression,
so BeatRoute spoke to Carly Russell,
a longtime yoga therapist, about yoga
and self-care in the wintertime.
BeatRoute: How do you define selfcare?
Carly Russell: Self-care is a dedication
of energy to taking a look at your
needs and creating a time and space
for your needs to exist. It’s figuring out
what it is you actually want and what
you need to do to go about creating
that change — without feeling like a
failure if you don’t feel amazing 100%
of the time.
BR: Why is yoga a good therapeutic
form to combat the “winter blues?”
CR: In the winter, people want to feel
warm and to feel comforted. I think
people are drawn to yoga because it
sort of represents that. People see it
as a way to bring comfort through
flexibility of the body and the mind.
It’s empowering someone through
movement and healing so they feel more
in control of their bodies. Yoga teaches
us to go from the inside out, to not be
outside in, so it’s being able to take a
moment and look at your surroundings
and the energy you have to give out
and making sure you’re taking enough
energy back in towards yourself in order
to be able to live healthily.
BR: Why yoga specifically, as opposed
to other forms of exercise?
CR: For many, yoga represents a
difference: the quiet practice, focusing
on breathing control, and also just
being able to sit with yourself. Asking
yourself hard questions and moving
through spaces that are challenging.
It’s working with both the effort
and the ease, and creating a balance
between the two.
BR: What would some of your other
self-care methods entail?
CR: Eating better, joyful activities
that are stimulating. I do sensory
deprivation therapy, which has helped
my meditation practice. What self-care
looks like for me is going to look different
for you. That’s why there’s so many things
out there for therapeutic purposes.
Find Carly Russell at Seacity Fitness and
Burrard Physiotherapy.
FABLE NATURALS
tips for keeping skin soft and luminous
this winter
SARAH JAMIESON
Dry skin is a reality that many face this
time of year. No one seems immune
to the perils of winter that leave skin
feeling parched, red, or irritated.
“Even though we live in a rainy
climate, we spend a lot of time indoors with
the heaters on, which can make dry skin
worse,” explains Gwen Richards, co-founder
of Fable Naturals, a Vancouver-based
company that specializes in handmade,
local, fairly traded, and natural skincare.
However, according to Richards, a
solid regimen of daily moisturizing and
weekly exfoliation can go a long way.
Using a humidifier, drinking plenty of
fluids, and applying a moisturizer specially
formulated for dry skin are also ways to
keep your skin supple in the winter.
“Vancouverites are busy and active
and often forget to protect their skin from
the elements during the winter season,”
she adds.
Moisturizing is important because it
maintains the integrity of the skin’s natural
moisture barrier (a physical and chemical
barrier that keeps out microorganisms
and irritants). A healthy barrier means
softer skin, fewer wrinkles, even skin tone,
and fewer breakouts.
Because soap-based cleansers can
strip the skin’s moisture barrier, Richards
recommends using oil cleansers in winter
— especially if you have dry or mature
skin. “Our rosehip and olive facial oil is a
customer favourite all year round because
it is so nourishing. The benefit of using oil
is that you get intense hydration from just
a few drops.”
And for anyone who may be put off by
oil-based cleansers, fear not — they won’t
clog your pores. Richards gives her word.
Fable Naturals is available at various stockists
including the Soap Dispensary and Be
Fresh, and online at fablenaturals.com.
26 CITY
December 2016

DARCY MICHAEL
part sass king, part domestic goddess
COMEDY
BETH D’AOUST
Darcy Michael may be racking up film
and television credits and relishing the
success of his recent comedy album,
Family Highs, which shot to #1 on iTunes
shortly after its release this past spring,
but as we chat on this blustery morning,
he’s tidying his office and cleaning
his cats’ litter boxes – activities he
claims keep him humble. A family
man, recently appreciating some
downtime at home with his husband
and daughter in Ladner after years of
non-stop travel to Toronto and L.A.
for work, Michael is enjoying a bit of
domestic bliss. “I secretly just want
to make enough money that I can be a
comfortable housewife,” Michael jokes.
“Cleaning the litter box and making
homemade ginger juice and burning
sage, that’s my shit.”
This recent change in pace is only
temporary, however, as Michael has
been hard at work writing scripts for
Darcy — a show in development for
CTV, based on Michael and his husband
Jeremy’s experiences as a gay couple
raising their daughter in a small town.
“The way I sold the show originally was I
wanted to make a gay Roseanne,” laughs
Michael. “Because, you know, it’s about
a blue collar, kind of not rich family
making ends meet. And that’s kind of
how Jer and Grace and I started.” It’s
no surprise that Michael has gravitated
toward this fresh take on a familiar
premise, given his description of his own
upbringing in a loving, unpretentious
household in small town Ontario. “My
parents definitely shaped who I am as a
comedian. And my whole family. Most of
the memories that I still have from being a
kid are of us laughing or doing something
stupid. […] Food fights are still a big thing
in our family […] Handful of spaghetti
across the room? Let’s dance!”
Considering the marital bliss
Michael has enjoyed for over a decade
here in Canada, we couldn’t help but
digress to the topic of recent political
affairs south of the border. As an artist
considerably invested in politics and
social justice, Michael is a tad deflated.
Darcy Michael does it for the love of good-natured ribbing, handfuls of spaghetti and high quality protest art.
“It’s a nightmare. I guess we all now
know how racists felt when Obama
got elected.” Determined to look for
a positive, however, he adds that
“repression breeds art. Fear breeds
art. The silver lining is that we’re
going to create some amazing
protest art over the next four years.”
And we look forward to the birth of
Michael’s particularly irreverent breed
of protest art in years to come.
It’s been a while since Michael’s
schedule has allowed him to perform
in his home clubs, so he looks forward
to reuniting with long time friend
and fellow comedian, Ivan Decker,
for their upcoming New Year’s Eve
show. “Ivan’s my comedy brother,
we started together. Well…” quips
Michael, “I’d prefer if we were
comedy boyfriends, but he’s pretty
dead set on staying straight.” To
experience Michael’s unapologetic
sass and good-natured ribbing of fellow
comedians in person, head down to The
Comedy Mix on New Year’s Eve.
Darcy Michael headlines The Comedy Mix
December 29-30. On December 31, Darcy
performs in a Triple Header with Ivan
Decker, Chris James and host, Kevin Banner.
Visit http://www.thecomedymix.com/
for tickets.
December 2016 COMEDY
27

QUEER
RAYE SUNSHINE
she’s extra!
DAVID CUTTING
Imagine a child at home in Mission:
playing alone, obsessed with Sailor
Moon, and imagining a world in which
they create artistic performances of
their very own. These are the humble
beginnings of the drag behemoth
known as Raye Sunshine.
With horrible pencil thin eyebrows
and a thirst for audience adoration,
Sunshine made her first appearance on
the Odyssey stage performing to “Boys”
by Britney Spears. Having grown up gay
in a small community, Sunshine was
prepared for what the drag scene had
in store. “I’ve been hated my whole life,”
she states. “I just don’t give a shit.”
Dubbed the “Supermodel Empress”
during her reign, Sunshine did a staggering
22 courts and visited everywhere. She
was driven to ensure that she represented
the Vancouver community on as big of a
scale as she could. Traveling as she has,
she learned a valuable piece of wisdom.
“It’s not about pleasing the other girls, or
hyping up a promoters ego or a visiting
Ru girl,” she says. “The most important
thing is the audience, the ones that came
to see you perform.”
“The worst thing you could ever do is
just walk past and stay within your group.”
Sunshine understands what is
truly responsible for her success and
she honours that. “Mingle,” she insists.
“Use that drink ticket to buy someone
standing alone a drink, ask them what
brought them out. For fuck sakes, smile
at the group of new people at the club,
‘cause chances are those are the ones that
will come and fill the seats at your shows.”
Sunshine is also an accomplished
makeup artist and is always willing
to lend tips and tricks to new queens.
Being able to express her creativity in
different ways is extremely fulfilling
and the help she lends to new queens
is a mark of that — she wants to see them
learn and grow just as much as she has. Not to
mention, her looks are creative and edgy,
and are accompanied with performances
where every detail is considered and
executed with great intention.
“It’s the thrill of creating something
on stage that a community can talk
about,” she explains. “Using art to
create conversation makes everything I
do worth it. I get to live in my fantasy
world that I’ve created, being as bat shit
crazy as I am, millions of ideas tumble
through my head with in a single
day, creating those ideas into life and
executing them into reality is a thrill.
That thrill of the stage, the roar of the
crowd and the gasps make it worth it,
but also feeling that fear right before I
go on, is addictive. If I ever lost that fear
before going on stage I would probably
quit drag because at that point it’s not a
risk or a challenge anymore.”
Sunshine is a drag fixture, and when
we talk about the future, she has a very
clear idea of what she wants to achieve.
“I want to expand my ‘empire’ and show
the world my love of drag,” she says. “So,
who knows where I’ll be, but I do know
I will always perform in Vancouver
because without this city and the
people that raised me up, I would still be
that new boy in a dress walking around
Bingo collecting donations.”
Catch Raye Sunshine on January 13 at the
Commodore Ballroom for “It’s Just Drag.”
Photo by Chase Hansen
28 QUEER
December 2016

Photo by Graham Spence
JANE
SMOKER
pushing the boundaries of
Vancouver drag
FROM THE DESK
OF CARLOTTA GURL
CARLOTTA GURL
I tend to and stay optimistic, even in
a world where hate, inequality, and
homophobia seem to reign supreme.
We’ve fought homophobia for what
seems like forever and have achieved
some great milestones such as gay
marriage acceptance and more civil
rights equality; but what will the
future bring? Is it two steps forward
and one step back? What can we do to
protect ourselves from the oncoming
struggles? I choose to think positive,
that we can and will, in the face of
insurmountable obstacles such as
blatant homophobia, survive and
prosper. I choose to believe that in
any case love really does trump hate!
I’ve had some people curious to
know my “coming out” story recently.
Well, there’s not too much to tell.
I’d endeavour to say that I was never
really in; I was always loud and
flamboyant, even as a child. Not to
say that this is a prerequisite for
being gay, but everyone around me
seemed to know I was “queer” before
I even knew what the word meant. It
wasn’t until I moved out of my small
town and went to a relatively bigger
city where I studied the arts and
met like minded individuals who
were all trying to find themselves
and discover who they were. What
followed was a time of exploration
and self discovery, where I learned
that being gay was wonderful; it was
there that I started to develop the
Carlotta personality. Coming out
can be an amazing experience when
shared with people we know will
understand and not make judgments
out of ignorance. There are some
wonderful programs today, such
as Out in Schools, designed to help
people understand and accept their
sexuality without the stigma and
negative reactions that have been
associated with it in history. We can
only hope that the struggles in gay
culture faced in the past won’t be as
difficult for today’s youth in society.
That is my ultimate Christmas wish.
Until next month, I love you all my
dahlings and hope you have a wondrous
and gay holiday season filled with love
and laughter and some fantastic drag
shows. Remember… If Carlotta Gurl
was Mrs. Claus, Santa would definitely
come more than once a year.
GIVE EM’ ORAL:
THE ODYSSEY
with Brandon Patrick Folkes, general manager of the Odyssey
DAVID CUTTING
The odyssey is coming back to life and
we got a chance to speak with Brandon
Patrick Folkes, one of the men who is
taking on the role of animating the club
space in its new era.
BR: What is the importance of queer
spaces?
BPF: Plainly they are where our culture
- in our community - nurtures and
grows. They have existed (and continue
to exist) as homes and safe havens
for the many who need physical and
emotional refuge. They are places for
us to share, socialize, create, and meet
- stages to produce on, rooms to help
give back, and where love can be shared
without shame. Without them, we as a
community wouldn’t have a proper
forum for us to allow our purest form
of personal and collective expression.
BR: What do people need to know
about the Odyssey that they don’t
know, or that they get wrong?
BPF: I think a lot of people have
“made up their mind” about the new
Odyssey based on events of the past
year and that isn’t my place to argue
as new management. But it has been
the toughest thing for us to deal with
in trying to retain a piece of our local
culture. I really want people to
understand that all the staff and
management care about this place.
None of us would be here if we didn’t
see the importance of its existence
and didn’t want it to grow. Sebastian
(the other manager) and I without
question love this space and have
made it our personal mission to
succeed. We have been fortunate to
have many of the old staff and artists
from the old Odyssey come and work
with us now, and to me it means we
are doing something right and to
have that support is incredible.
BR: Tell us about your dream for
the Odyssey.
BPF: My dream for The Odyssey is to
have it live up to its legacy and move it
forward into a new exciting era in our
community. We may not be the exact
clone of our original selves; but let’s
be real - nothing really ever is. As with
the times we must evolve and be just
as bold. Social progress is consistently
evolving forward; and these places
outside of the Davie Village are an echo
of that change. As the old Odyssey
on Davie once stood as a platform of
LGBTQ+ progress and creativity, the
new one antes that jump even further
by being there outside of the bubble
and being a solidified LGBTQ+ space to
exist for all. To further this ideal - this is
my dream.
December 2016 QUEER
29

FILM
THIS MONTH IN FILM
PARIS SPENCE-LANG
TOP FIVE MOVIES OF 2016
PARIS SPENCE-LANG
ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY
Star Wars has a history of great prequels, so it’s no surprise to see another
one. For the lucky among us, our first encounter with the franchise was
not of a Gungan, but of R2D2 escaping with the Death Star plans. Left off
where A New Hope picks up, Rogue One follows an unlikely band of heroes as
they attempt to steal the plans. A little anti-climactic since we already know the
Death Star has been destroyed, like, four times. (In theaters December 16th)
BARRY
Obama wasn’t always a POTUS—before he took up residence in Trump
Tower, he had to go to POTUS school. Then known to his friends as Barry
(and to Republicans as “Barrier”—ha!), Obama spent his post-secondary
years torn between the same insecurities as us all. Except he clearly handled
them better. This riveting biopic will leave you wanting more—just like his
second term. (In theaters December 16th)
THE FOUNDER
As Supersize Me showed us, Obama isn’t the only one capable of helping
us grow. But McDonalds wasn’t always an international obesity generator;
it was once a local, homegrown obesity generator. Though strange to find
out even Birdman has a craving for McNuggets, Michael Keaton is sure to
pull off a killer performance of Ray Kroc. And the best part? No subliminal
advertising! (In theaters December 16th)
THE FOUNDER
You can look at some prissy list of the
year’s top Scandinavian cinema. You
can watch the Oscars and wonder
where the good directors have gone. Or
you can read my list. I don’t like socially
aware movies. I don’t like movies with
stunning cinematography, and I don’t
like movies with the plot of an Alexandre
Dumas novel. I just like movies. I don’t
think Rolling Stone will agree with this
list, but they can go fuck themselves. I
think these are the best movies of 2016—
and to be honest, I’m pretty sure I’m right.
WHERE TO INVADE NEXT
I’m tired of people saying the world is
going to hell in a man purse—there’s
plenty of hope if you look for it. Michael
Moore found it, and all he had to do
was leave America. A one-man invasion,
Moore tours Europe and Tunisia to steal
the best ideas the world has to offer:
tantalizing ideas such as no homework,
two-hour lunch breaks, free university,
decriminalized drugs, and a woman
president. The film is eternally optimistic,
and while some say Moore isn’t a true
documentarian, I’d rather watch hope
than fact any day of the week.
KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS
With stunning stop-motion animation,
A-list voice acting, and a killer story,
Kubo is a near-perfect masterpiece.
Yes, it’s a movie for children, but by
now that should be a compliment.
Both funny and deeply emotional, you
will laugh and cry at what is probably
the only movie with origami fight scenes.
Kubo wields his shamisen like a violin
against the devil—not only does he use
it to battle evil, he does so with gnarly
licks that reinforce a raw and energizing
score. Finally, Matthew McConaughey
has found his calling as a samurai beetle.
GREEN ROOM
This film is great because it captures
what most of us are feeling postelection:
like our band has just witnessed
a murder at a neo-Nazi skinhead bar
and are now forced to fight for survival.
And though the world around us isn’t
as bad as it seems (see #1), it literally is
in Green Room. This is slasher cinema
done right—by carefully concocting
a plausible setting and scenario for
hammers, machetes, attack dogs, and
Exacto knives to come out, the fear
is real. And now I know how to kill
someone with a fluorescent light bulb.
THE NEON DEMON
Everyone says this movie sucked. Maybe
they’re right (it got booed at Cannes),
but then again, probably not. Nicolas
Winding Refn (Drive) paints another
colourful masterpiece using the power
of his mind in this emotion-void pit of
failing humanity as he drags naïve model
Jesse (Elle Fanning) through LA’s worst.
When she comes out the other side,
she is no longer a person but a warning
to society as it plummets towards…
well, I don’t want to spoil the ending.
Though the ending will probably spoil
your appetite.
SWISS ARMY MAN
But honestly, Earth is amazing. And
even if neo-Nazis are trying to kill
you, or fashion models are trying to
steal your mana, just remember that
someone made Swiss Army Man.
With a box office dominated by high
budgets and higher sequels (Fast
and Furious SEVEN!), someone had
the decency to make a movie about
farting and boners and other dumb
shit that is entirely sincere—AND
heartwarming. And the good news
is Daniel Radcliffe finally broke free
of his Harry Potter stigma. It just took
playing a dead guy to do it.
30 FILM
December 2016

REVIEWS
THE WEEKND
Starboy
XO / Republic
Starboy, the latest from Toronto-based songbird
The Weeknd — moniker of Abel Tesfaye — is an
unfortunate expression of the Faustian bargain: a
trade of what made him originally interesting, for
the benefit of radio-friendly superstardom.
While he’s certainly come a long way from his
“drinking Alizé with his cereal for breakfast” roots,
having found unprecedented success over the last
two years, Starboy marks a shift in direction from
the self-abusing efficacy of his earlier work — and
that’s not necessarily for the better.
Tesfaye seems to have fallen into the realm of
mainstream R&B braggadocio (which isn’t entirely
unwarranted), but the progression from the
fragility of his prior releases to the conventions of
the “superstar status” ethos has diminished his role
of the interesting, heart-on-his-sleeve-and-drugson-his-upper-lip
image that made him so endearing
in the first place.
Sure, some of the hedonistic tendencies
are still there, but it no longer seems to have the
same part-humility, part-hard-truth aspect of
Tesfaye’s earlier songwriting (particularly his Trilogy
mixtapes) which featured an obviously younger,
more exploratory form of basement-R&B: esoteric
samples, confessional lyricism, stark, crystalline
synth backdrops, and an atmosphere of melancholia
that made it cool to revel in lachrymose debauchery.
Tesfaye himself seems to address some of the topics
of his previous works on Starboy, particularly on
the stand-out track “Reminder,” which has him
~reminding~ the listener that he “just won a new
award for a kids show / Talking ‘bout a face numbing
off a bag of blow,” before reeling with his newfound
status as a household name in the following line:
“I’m like goddamn bitch I am not a Teen Choice /
Goddamn bitch I am not a bleach boy.”
Considering the lyrical content of Tesfaye’s
releases, this reference to his mega-hit “Can’t Feel
My Face,” off of 2015’s Beauty Behind the Madness,
can be taken as rather ironic to both listener and
artist when considering the supposedly conservative
views of the masses that have propelled the
decidedly un-conservative Tesfaye to stardom, and
the truth that if the vibe of Starboy is any indication
of Tesfaye’s future projects, there’s a lot more Teen
Choice Awards coming his way.
This overt pop bent isn’t inherently a bad thing,
but unlike Tesfaye’s past work, the material on
Starboy lacks the charisma and magnetism required
to save it from its most glaring issue; Starboy
features 18 tracks — a 68-minute runtime — with
little variation to separate the soppy, overworked
808-driven pop tunes from one another. The result
is an album that feels more than a tad bloated.
It seems that Tesfaye has fallen for a common
pop music pitfall that arises once an artist starts
receiving massive radio-play: albums become less
about the coherent whole, and more about drawing
the listener’s ear to the singles.
Case in point: the features on Starboy, which
are comprised of a long list of the usual suspects,
from the certified collab-gold Daft Punk (on not one,
but TWO tracks), to fellow phenom Future, and the
omnipresent Kendrick Lamar, who seems to have
made it his mission to feature on every major album
of 2016.
While each of the artists featured on Starboy
manage to bring something to the table, for better or
worse, they contribute to the overall feeling that this
album was produced under the umbrella of “too big
to fail.” Many of the tracks give off this atmosphere of
pre-packaged, inoffensive, formulaic radio-rap ready
to climb up the charts because that’s what they were
produced to do.
Maybe this is an overtly cynical approach to
dissecting Starboy, as anyone who came up listening
to his Trilogy set of mixtapes can attest to knowing
that The Weeknd finding success wasn’t so much a
question of “How?” as it was a question of “When?”
Tesfaye is clearly no longer the under-the-radar
wunderkind who somehow managed to soundtrack
a thousand late-nights (and their accompanying
morning-afters), but by breaking into the role he
was undoubtedly destined for — that of a major
hitmaker — he seems to have followed a steady
decline in terms of captivation and originality that
began with his lacklustre debut studio album Kiss
Land in 2013.
The unfortunate truth is that albums like Starboy
will eventually be forgotten. Stacked up against the
dime-a-dozen pop releases that managed to maybe,
just maybe, shuffle off one or two memorable songs
before they fade into the backdrop, but if that works
for The Weeknd, who are we to judge?
If the explicit references to expensive cars,
jewelry, and the lifestyles of the rich and famous
found across Starboy are any indication, Tesfaye is
reaping the benefits of much-deserved success and
enjoying every minute of it.
In his own words: He’s a motherfuckin’ star, boy.
December 2016 REVIEWS
31

ALBUM REVIEWS
Beach Season
Libra Year
Universal Music Canada
Just two years ago, Calgarians Simon
Blitzer and Sam Avant, otherwise
known as Beach Season, were hiding
out in their parents’ basements, hard
at work pioneering “bootywave.” The
self-named genre was a proprietary
blend of sultry, synth-heavy tracks
that featured ample low-end, and
lithe, R&B-flavored vocals from Avant
that had a bedroom intimacy, even
with its admittedly lo-fi production.
Libra Year, the duo’s major label,
debut EP for Universal, is leaps ahead
of “bootywave”-era Beach Season, but
it’s often clear that they haven’t quite
found their voice, no matter how hard
they attempt to remain “on brand.”
Production wise, Libra Year is in a
totally different league than that of
their earlier, SoundCloud-hosted work.
Its six tracks explode with massive
synth chords, DJ-Mustard-meets-
Flume basslines, and crisp, radio-ready
vocals from Avant.
Yet, while songs like “Tribes” and
“Body Heat,” are sonically scintillating,
dig beneath the surface and they both feel
vapid and impersonal, filled with vague,
R&B clichés that don’t do much to set
Beach Season apart from a slew of other
acts currently dominating pop radio.
The EP’s final track, “Pink Room,”
is proof that Beach Season can make
genre-mashing pop music that is fun
to listen to, but it may be some time
before Blitzer and Avant hone their
talent into a project that fully realizes
that potential.
Blu and Union Analogtronics
Cheetah in the City
Fat Beats
Ever since his groundbreaking album,
Below the Heavens, came out in 2007,
I’ve held up Blu as arguably the most
talented MC around when he’s on his
game. However, the inevitable dilution
of his prolific nature means that he
often puts out subpar material. As
such, I’m left excited but wary of new
releases as they come. So I came to this
project with Union Analogtronics a
little apprehensively.
The album largely sees Blu check
his ‘conscious rapper’ hat at the door,
instead dropping rhymes dripping with
bravado. Thought provoking lyrics are
sacrificed for his pure flow to shine
through, and while his complexity
emerges on a few numbers, his raps
stand out more as a complimentary
item for the consistently impressive
soundscapes of Union Analogtronics.
The French-based production team
produce warm, synth-laden, bass-heavy
bangers driven by hard hitting jazz and
funk undertones that stay fresh and
dynamic throughout, bringing the best
out of the impressive roster of guest
vocalists featured on the album. While
Blu changes up his typical approach
on this one, Cheetah in the City is a
quality release with superb production,
providing an unabashed and intentional
Boom it in Your Jeep type of sound.
Bow Wow & Soulja Boy
Ignorant Shit
Independent
Picture this: It’s 2007, George ‘Dubya’
Bush is golfing out the remaining years
of his presidency, demotivational
posters are being shared via primitive,
T9 word texts, and Soulja Boy’s seminal,
proto-meme-rap dance-anthem “Crank
That (Soulja Boy),” is bumping out of
first-gen iPod Touch earbuds worldwide.
It was a simpler time; the halcyon days
of pre-Future trap music and garish,
blinged-out grandstanding. Those
warm memories are something that
should be cherished, which is more than
can be said about Ignorant Shit, Soulja
Boy’s joint mixtape with fellow ‘what’s
he been up to?’ rapper, Bow Wow.
The album is very similar to the
latest Ghostbusters film; you tuned
in hoping for an injection of a healthy
dose of narcotic nostalgia, the problem
is that the feeling wore off in the
first four minutes and you were left
with 80+ minutes of vacant time to
introspectively wonder why someone
felt the need for this resurgence.
Ignorant Shit stands as an
effort to resurrect two careers back
into relevancy, and in some ways it
surprisingly succeeds. The fifth track
“That Way,” is a great microcosm of the
album, a lightweight Pusha T mockup
that does little to justify its existence.
Soulja Boy and Bow Wow followed
the script and created a cookie cutter,
Atlanta-sound album glamorizing the
duo’s wealth accumulated over the
past decade. Still, despite their wellpublicized
differences in the past, it’s
nice to see both artists could reunite
and create an album that would have
been deemed creative and noteworthy
if it came out in 2007.
The Colourist & Emilíana Torrini
The Colourist & Emilíana Torrini
Rough Trade
Icelandic singer-songwriter Emilíana
Torrini has been making music
professionally for almost two
decades, working on six solo albums
and cataloguing a lengthy list of
collaborations with everyone from
trance DJ Paul Oakenfold, to Australian
pop star Kylie Minogue. Torrini’s
discography is a document of an artist
that works best when being pushed
to their personal creative limits, a trait
that has led Torrini across the globe,
collaborating with gypsies in Cordoba,
a 60-piece symphony orchestra in
Iceland, and an experimental jazz band
in Belgium.
Still, after all these disparate
collaborations, Torrini’s work with The
Colourist Orchestra, a Belgian ensemble
founded in 2013 by percussionists Aarich
Jespers and Kobe Proesmans, is arguably
the best work she’s done to date.
Jespers and Proesmans assembled
an eight-piece orchestra to deconstruct
songs from across Torrini’s catalogue,
taking odds and ends from the original
songs, but largely piecing them back
together in ways that leave the new
versions almost unrecognizable when
compared to their original compositions.
Performed live for this album,
these compositions are lush, vibrant
pieces of music that overflow with
string swells, whimsical woodwinds,
and organic grooves that Torrini
takes full advantage of. Opening track
“Caterpillar,” is underscored by a
thumping rhythm section reminiscent
of a classical Moderat, living in stark
contrast to Torrini’s flawless soprano.
It is immediately entrancing, leading off
11, sprawling compositions that build
upon the original works of Torrini, but
never live in their shadow.
Cowards
Interviews With Dull Men
Independent
The fact that Steve Albini has heard this
record might tell you everything you
need to know about it. Jordan Koop, who
recorded Interviews With Dull Men in
2013 in his then brand new Noise Floor
Studios on Gabriola Island, used the
record as an example when he attended
Albini’s master class mentorship in France
last year.
That Albini himself was influenced
by bands such as the Birthday Party, Pere
Ubu and Throbbing Gristle is no secret.
That Cowards are influenced by Big Black
and Rapeman is probably no secret either.
Interviews is minimal and
repeating like a drunk night out with an
abusive old friend. Dark and nihilistic,
it expounds on the liminal, pushing the
threshold of the listener, entreating us to
explore the limits of our thinking — the
horror of philosophy. Self-abasing verging
on anti-social, it’s a “sticky sheen of selfhate
and seedy situations set upon a
crunchy Pro Co Rat infected bass.”
The songs here have been given
a little more room to breathe, with a
couple old tracks re-recorded and a
bunch of new material that is finally
seeing the light of day, which wasn’t
always a certainty as the band broke up
in September of 2014. A pity since this
is once of the best albums of the year.
Limited edition of 100 tapes.
Dark Tranquility
Atoma
Century Media Records
Dark Tranquility, one of the more
prominent Swedish melodic death
metal bands, has been dishing out one
great album after another since their
1993 release Skydancer. For 13 years
they have been defining the genre, so
it is completely disheartening to hear
their latest album, Atoma. The meat,
albeit bland, is definitely in the middle
of the album: “Neutrality,” “Clearing
Skies,” and “When the World Screams,”
have the elements of a classic DT song:
the speed and the energy a longtime fan
has come to expect.
However, it’s not enough to
make up for the watered-down goth
rock that infiltrates the first few songs,
overshadowing the rest of the album.
The overbearing clean vocals, are way too
prominent throughout and don’t offer up
a pleasant contrast with the harsh - as is
the expected - melodeath formula.
Coming into this expecting any
of the passion we heard on Haven, or
more recently We Are the Void, is a
huge disservice. A few of the tracks on
the album are almost redeeming, but
the oscillation between the bland, hard
rock-styled songs and the traditional
melodic death songs is far too unstable,
unpredictable and unenjoyable. There is
just too much uninspired fluff to make
this a notable album.
DIANA
Familiar Touch
Culvert Music
In 2013, Toronto synth pop group
DIANA had an overnight success
most bands only dream of. The band,
consisting of Carmen Elle, Joseph
Shabason, and Kieran Adams, posted
“Born Again” online without expecting
anything to come of it. The single
exploded online, garnering fanatic
response and catapulting DIANA into
the crosshairs of plenty of unexpected
label attention. Perpetual Surrender, the
album that followed was a hastily-crafted,
32 REVIEWS
December 2016

flash-in-the-pan that seemed to be formed
out of pure creativity; hindbrain instincts
taking over and producing gold.
As both a blessing and a curse, DIANA
had plenty of time to craft their sophomore
album, resulting in Familiar Touch, a loving
recreation of ‘80s pop music from the likes
of Talk Talk, Cocteau Twins, and OMD.
Unfortunately, DIANA suffer the same fate
as many bands doing ‘80s synth pop
amalgamations often do: by basking
in the neon glow and the hues of Hughes
(John, that is), they get lost in a Marty Mcnot-so-fly
time machine, ultimately making
music that sounds dated upon arrival.
The songs of Familiar Touch are
particularly upsetting because they
never quite reach the highs of Perpetual
Surrender, often being just good enough
to compare to the ‘80s tunes they are so
eagerly inspired by.
Admittedly, Perpetual Surrender
isn’t all this disappointing. “What You
Get” is a heart-on-the-sleeve synth jam
that could’ve sound tracked a prom
scene in basically any ‘80s movie that
had one. It’s a great song, but much like
the rest of the album, it just feels like
one you’ve heard before.
Drive-By Truckers
American Band
ATO Records
There won’t be enough space here to
properly justify why American Band is the
year’s most important rock record, there’ll
only be enough room to gloss over the fact.
Kicking off with “Ramon Casiano,”
co-frontman Mike Cooley lays down
what will amount to a history lesson
in American race dynamics from the
perspective of middle-aged, southern
white guys. The story of the murder
of the aforementioned Casiano at the
hands of Harlan Carter, a 17-year-old
Texan who would later become head
of the NRA, kicks off with a powerful
rock groove which seldom lays back
throughout the album. Patterson Hood
gets his licks in on the subject in “Guns
of Umpqua,” a retelling of the mass
shooting on the Umpqua Community
College in Oregon in 2015. Hood and
Cooley have always had a distinct knack
for post-incident ambiguity in narrative,
but the songs on American Band get
closer to point, and therefore the roots
of the seemingly endless problems in
America today. “Kinky Hypocrite” is a
stone classic, a Faces riff with Cooley
taking the righteousness of the political
religious right to task for their own
sexcapades, all in the most tuneful way
possible. Hood’s “What It Means” is a
relentless series of questions without
answer, and Cooley’s “Once They
Banned Imagine” is the greatest protest
song since “Killing In The Name.”
To be succinct in imploring
listeners to really hear American
Band, the most chilling and troubling
statement is the one that’s never made:
Middle-aged southern white men may
only hear these truths if they’re spoken
by middle-aged southern white men.
Fear of Noise
Hierarchy
Independent
Bask in the gloom of Hierarchy, the
latest from Vancouver’s jazz-punkpsychedelic
three-piece Fear of Noise.
Stretched over seven tracks that sound
more like aural fever-dreams, Hierarchy is a
labyrinthine knot of sonic chord progression,
thundering stereophonic drum beats (think
doom-rock at its finest), and winding pitter
patters of bass that ultimately equates to a
sound that’s by no means “easy listening,” but
is ultimately rewarding as hell.
From the moment the birds begin to
chirp and the dissonance begins to build
on opener “Blister,” Hierarchy promises the
listener that this won’t be a simple Sunday
drive. While the album itself hovers
around the forty-minute mark, time has
no place amidst the rollicking percussion
and the climbing-up-the-walls delirious
atmosphere which at points can be a tad
disorienting. But it’s not all insanity.
Songs like “Spider Pills” and “Lost in
Solution” ditch some of the more abrasive
noise for a conventional, straight-forward,
almost beautiful kind of guitar-heavy
lament before the 8-and-a-half minute
“Smooth Talk Rough Planet” closes the
album off with a full-force wall of sound.
In the end, Hierarchy isn’t so much
about being fearful of noise, but instead
opening yourself up and embracing the
madness.
Future States
Casual Listener
Golden Brown
If Vampire Weekend and some ‘60s pop
rock band had a millennial-indie-goth
baby who got really into vapourwave
just last week, Future States would likely
be that kid.
Casual Listener, the first full-length
from this Montreal psych pop five-piece,
was recorded in a church in northern
Quebec over a two-week period last year.
Future States dare to explore new
ideas, evident within their rich, yet alien
arrangements. One moment we have a
melancholy indie folk song with nothing
but whispery vocals, whistling and
acoustic guitar, the next we have chilled
out, ambient electro.
“Melody” is truly the focal point
of the nine song album. It’s a cool
breeze of a listen, created by layer
upon layer of ‘60s-esque, warped-tape
guitars. It features surfy, indie rock
hooks, and warm synth textures all laid
on top of unpredictable percussion,
December 2016 REVIEWS
33

a combination of live drums, drum
machines and sampled breaks.
Each song flows gently into the next,
complimented by moments of hazy drones
formed from obscure samples — what
sounds like dial-up internet noise, effects from
random video games, whistling birds, crashing
waves, pitch shifted vocal patterns and lifted
music pieces that are chopped and re-sewn.
It’s apparent the young band put a lot of
detail into the production, resulting in a quirky,
laid back album that lightly touches roots of
experimentation.
Industrial Priest Overcoats
Gone.Nativity
Independent
Industrial Priest Overcoats frontman
Trevor McEachran describes his band’s
latest offering as one that is deeply
inspired by his personal experiences
with drug addiction, mental illness,
and prejudice that is inescapable for
indigenous people living in Canada.
Gone.Nativity is a record that delivers
on every ounce of rage and wildness
expected from a person in McEachran’s
shoes, but it also pleasantly surprises
with mature melodies that show signs
of restraint and careful deliberation.
The record is all over the place
in terms of cohesiveness, but the
individual songs are enjoyable and the
lyrics are refreshingly blunt. “Now I
have to decide
whether to swallow my pride or
spit on your eye,” shrieks McEachran on
standout track “ALL MY RELATIONZ.”
McEachran’s vocals and high-pitched
shrills are reminiscent of Colin Newman
from the English post-punk band Wire.
Released in 1977, Pink Flag by Wire is arguably
one of the best albums in the genre, so while
Industrial Priest Overcoats have a long way
to go, the elements are there for success.
There are truly ear-catching moments
scattered through Gone.Nativity and the
energy is palpable, but the band seems
to move on to the next idea before fully
fleshing out the ones that work.
Trap or Die 3
Def Jam/CTE World
Jeezy, formerly known as Young Jeezy,
is 39 years old, but that doesn’t stop
him from falling victim to the trap.
When it comes to trap music, releases
are plentiful, beats are predictable, and
lyrics are interchangeable. Trap or Die
3, Jeezy’s seventh studio album, is no
different from all the other generic trap
releases this year that took less than a
week to make. It seems like rappers are
racing (probably to the bank), attempting
to release project after project in the
shortest timeframe, and the worst part is
that quality or originality doesn’t seem to
matter anymore.
“Girl, you know you’re flexing with
your flexing ass,” exclaims Jeezy on
“Sexé,” channeling his inner 2 Chainz on
a track that sounds identical to others
but with slightly more ridiculous lyrics.
Trap or Die 3 was Jeezy’s third numberone
album in the U.S, and it is also third
album in as many years. Jeezy’s next
album, Snow Season, is due to arrive
before the end of the year, bringing a
blizzard of fatigue with it. Despite these
criticisms, Trap or Die 3 delivers… on
being mindless “turn up” music that is
awful enough to mirror the thought
process behind bad decisions commonly
made in drunken stupors.
Laurel
Park EP
Counter Records
Southampton-raised, London-based
singer, songwriter and producer Laurel is
evidence of the Internet’s ability to serve
as a fantastic incubation chamber for the
music industry. The roots of the 22-year-old
singer-songwriter’s career originate directly
from SoundCloud. The service was home to
Laurel’s earliest bedroom-productions that,
like many young creators on the website,
showed indisputable talent, but a lack of
confidence and distinct direction.
Now signed to esteemed
independent label Counter Records,
Laurel’s voice is almost unrecognizable to
those early recordings, as is her song writing
and production abilities. On “Hurricane,”
the first single from her brand new fourtrack
Park EP, Laurel shows just how much
impact a few years of development can
have on a young artist. It’s an impeccablyproduced
indie pop track that is expansive
despite still being made in a bedroom.
It’s highlighted by Laurel’s endlesslyemotive
voice that is often reminiscent
of Florence Welch, impressively reaching
the same stadium-sized heights, all from
the comfort of her bedroom.
“Goodbye (Demo),” the last track
on the EP, does the complete opposite,
stripping away everything but fingerpicked
guitar and Laurel’s quietest
vocal delivery that manages to pack
the most punch. It’s a torch song that
is unflinchingly intimate, unvarnished
and an overall haunting way to end a
tauntingly short EP that puts Laurel
at the top of the list of artists to be
watching in 2017.
Letherette
Last Night on the Planet
Ninja Tune
Letherette is indeed making ninja like
moves on the musical front. Hailing
from Wolverhampton, UK, the duo
of Richard Roberts and Andy Harber,
T H E A S T O R I A
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34 REVIEWS
December 2016

have pushed through the muddle of
digital label chaos to release their debut
album, Last Night on the Planet, under
the subversive heavyweight Ninja
Tune. The duo shows an impressive
dedication to musical diversity,
evident in what is a full spectrum of
genres throughout the album. From
beginning to end, it truly feels like a
complete work, without gap or void,
encompassing what many have come
to expect from Ninja Tune signings.
The intro track “Momma,” is a
smooth hip-hop ode aided by the
services of Rejjie Snow on the mic. Their
first single off the album “Shanel,”
has that old-school, 808 breakbeat
vibe that’ll have you questioning
what era you’re in. As the journey
continues, they bring in their
house influence and keep it riding
for a few tracks, before breaking it
up a bit showcasing some ethereal
elements. Yet, the duo still finds
a way to work in some more hiphop
with the title track that fades
to another meditative melody at
the end. With Last Night on the
Planet, it’s clear Letherette have
found their niche, setting them up
to keep releasing quality music for
years to come.
Living Body
Body is Working
Kingfisher Bluez
With its influence in all the right
places, Body is Working, the debut
album from Leeds, UK based, selfdescribed
“Post-Brexitcore” band
Living Body, is a rich studio release
with deliberately paced movements
and instrumentation. Studio is the
key phrase here, because the record
feels a little bit like a rock opera. While
cinematic, very little of it conjures
images of a live performance. With
post-rock linearity, there are expansive
swells and dynamic low moments,
but it also contains some achingly
raw vocalizations from both male
and female singers with some clearly
pointed lyricism.
Hyper-articulate and quintessentially
modern British guitar work reels in the corners,
flutters and clean hooks are everywhere
with the horns, keys, and understated
rhythms playing second fiddle,
occasionally there is a literal fiddle or two
as well, as in standout track “I Recollect.”
Production elements also fill the gaps,
but adds a layer of digitality that roots this
record in its studio feeling.
Body is Working is more than a proof
of concept, it’s an exercise in masterful
guitar work, smart songwriting, and clever
arrangement. That it left us wanting more
might be more of a compliment to Living
Body than it seems.
Bruno Mars
24K Magic
Atlantic Records
Who does Bruno Mars think he is? No,
seriously, I’m asking.
Based on wedding and Bar
Mitzvah neo-classic “Uptown Funk,”
Mars’s biggest hit to date, you’d think
24K Magic would simply jack Prince
one more time and that Mars would
shell out for Mark Ronson (who did
the heavy lifting of writing “Uptown
Funk”) to produce his album. Instead,
he and producers Shampoo Press & Curl
(really?) and The Stereotypes (really?)
ripped off Ronson and a confusing
melee of other hitmakers for a mostly
confused, anachronistic mess.
To be fair, there are a couple of
good things about 24K Magic: it’s only
nine songs long, Halle Berry makes an
appearance, and occasionally Mars
seems to be in on the actually funny
part of the joke this record is.
“Chunky” uses silly jewelry
terminology and soggy, boogie hues
to give love to the old-school ladies.
“Shout out to the girls who pay their
rent on time,” he sings for some reason.
A better delivery of funk-indebted
humorous, light-heartedness is “Perm”
(which Ronson and Mystikal are likely
filing suit over at this very moment).
Mars actually sounds reverent and
delightfully charming for the briefest
of moments, encouraging someone
uptight to “throw some Perm on your
attitude.” It’s the same hook-heavy,
substance-free fun of “Uptown Funk,”
just a little too familiar for comfort.
Not much of the rest of the album
is even worth talking about. There’s
some pretty embarrassing Boyz II Men
posturing, a fake missed call to Halle
Berry and perhaps the most revolting
song of all time: “Versace on the Floor.”
That one is recommended to only the
most adventurous of masochists, for
whom the surprise should not be spoilt.
Don’t bother seeking out this
album. There are plenty of places
you’ll inevitably encounter it anyway:
an awkward car ride that can only
be put at ease by the worst of top 40
radio, a nightclub you wish you hadn’t
gone to but got dragged to by that
one friend, literally anywhere caterers
work, the lobby of an office building
that smells like leftovers crossed with
feet, or perhaps even the Seventh
Circle of Hell.
Meek Mill
DC4
Maybach Music Group
After a tumultuous year away from the
spotlight, Philadelphia rapper Meek
Mill returns with DC4, his first project
since Dreams Worth More Than
Money, an album that many believe to
be a high point in his career. Following
some high profile feuds with some of
the industry’s top names, Meek Mill
seems eager to prove himself an equal
among their ranks, a feat he tries to
achieve with DC4.
The album is filled with an
intensity that often translates into
yelling, but that’s not a complaint. This
album truly plays on his strong writing
abilities and his ability to revisit his
childhood and themes of violence towards
black people with a broad lens. Despite
the themes the album isn’t completely
serious, incorporating some infectious
tracks like “Offended.” The roster of
features including Young Thug, 21 Savage,
and Atlanta trio Migos, adds a level of
credibility to the album, showing that
some of the scene’s top players still run with
Mill. If this album is anything, it is proof
that Meek isn’t about to let his career
take a hit from any other rapper.
Monomyth
Happy Pop Family
Mint Records
With lazy, skate park guitars, much
like that of bands like Heaven for
Real and Walrus, and a relaxed power
pop sound like Nap Eyes, Happy Pop
Family, Monomyth’s new 11-track
album, is the perfect listen for a warm
Sunday afternoon. The Halifax fourpiece
plays with hallowed sounds and
guitar-monies, reminiscent of bands
like Television, that mesmerize you
without you even being aware of it.
With garage-y, indie pop hooks, the
lazy beach day vibe of Monomyth gives
each chorus of these songs a catchy
element you’ll find yourself humming
throughout the day. Their drowsy
vocals and lyrics, seemingly inspired by
early ‘90s grunge, alongside psychedelic,
jangly instrumentals hold something for
fans of various sub-genres.
Despite being consistently
compared to Halifax legends Sloan, I
myself find nothing in common with
the two acts. While both bands are
great, Monomyth brings a calm vibe
and an I-don’t-care attitude in their
sound that will connect with the new
generation of slacker youth. Overall,
the album is a soft sludge piece of art
representative of the common human.
Agnes Obel
Citizen of Glass
Play It Again Sam
One of the more underappreciated
technological advancements in music
production is the ability to change
the pitch of the human voice. Not
in the T-Pain, “All I Do is Win” usage
of AutoTune, but in the ability to
completely drop the octave of a
human voice while still keeping
it in tempo. The results can often
be controversial: Frank Ocean on
this year’s Blonde standout “Nikes”
is a clear contender for positively
received use, but then there’re the
less-than-favourable initial reactions
to hearing Justin Vernon of Bon
Iver, or Dave Longstreth of Dirty
Projectors - both seasoned “acoustic”
musicians - adopting the digital
baritone throughout the year.
Five-time Danish Music Award
winner Agnes Obel, falls in the latter
category. The classically-indebted,
folk singer-songwriter uses the
technique on “Familiar,” the first single
off of Citizen of Glass, her intoxicating
third full-length. The single features
Obel dropping her gently-emotive
falsetto into a lower register for the
chorus; the resulting voice is exactly
like the title of the song describes.
It feels so recognizable - comforting
in its warmth, yet off-putting in its
unnatural pronunciation and eerie,
lower-range falsetto. It’s an unnatural
element that Obel juxtaposes with
ornate string arrangements and an
elegant piano accompaniment that
wrap her uncanny valley voice in silk.
It’s the only time Obel obfuscates
her operatic voice on Citizen of
Glass, but it is one of the strongest
singular moments on any album from
the last year, a high-watermark that
the rest of the album never quite
achieves again, despite being wholly
captivating, and coming close on “It’s
Happening Again,” and the aching,
album closer “Mary.”
With its classically-influenced
instrumentation, Citizen of Glass is
a stark, frost-bitten album that often
sounds like it doesn’t belong in 2016,
but then again, it often sounds like it
doesn’t belong in any time period at
all, and that’s just one of many great
things about it.
Allan Rayman
Hotel Allan
Universal Music
Beginning with a mournful, selfaddressed
lament, Toronto’s Allan
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December 2016 REVIEWS
35

LA VIDA LOCAL
Rayman has finally released his debut
LP. A great deal of mystery surrounds
this singer/songwriter. He shies away
from press, and his releases seem to
emerge from a great enigmatic fog.
However, once heard, they sink deep
within a very profound part of the
lucky listener’s very being.
He has a distinct vocal style that
is hard to forget. Tastefully subdued
and layered in emotion, characteristic
of a southern bluesman, his voice
projects heartfelt, soulful lyrics borne by
mesmerizing melodies and rhythms.
He brought back some of his
previous singles like the incredible
“Lucy The Tease,” a song that will
instantly get you hooked on Rayman’s
sound. “Tennessee” is also found here,
combining a serene depth of melancholy
lyricism and surprisingly fresh hip-hop
percussion and sampling.
This full length also features many
new songs, and really showcases this
man’s range. A funk groove kicks off
“Beverly,” before being joined shortly
down the road by some ethereal guitar
plucking, only to be bombarded by a juicy
bassline and Rayman’s signature crooning.
A release that certainly merits
multiple listens, but you will find that goes
without saying once you hear it.
Dawn Richard
Redemption
Local Action/Our Dawn Entertainment
Monomyth is a term used to describe
a basic narrative framework that’s
been pulled from the stories of Jesus
Christ, Gautama Buddha and applied
to the creation of modern-day fictions
such as Star Wars, The Matrix or The
Lord of the Rings. They’re all about the
hero’s journey, a protagonist gathering
some deeper knowledge and their
transformation into something better
because of it. In 2016, D∆WN, or Dawn
Richard, is our redeemed protagonist.
D∆WN got her start in music as a
member of P. Diddy-sponsored, reality
show-spawned girl group, Danity Kane. It
wasn’t until 2013, with her independentlyreleased
solo debut Goldenheart,
that her journey progressed from the
blandness of pseudo-top 40 stardom to
her destined role as a visionary blender of
R&B, dance, and electronic music.
Redemption is the final piece of the
monomythic album trilogy, starting with
Goldenheart and punctuated by last year’s
brooding Darkheart.
Almost every track of Redemption is a
highlight, with various interludes providing a
pause in an otherwise non-stop affair. “Love
Under Lights” turns its EDM-crescendo into a
shimmering metamorphosis of the entire song
while “Black Crimes” is a Black Lives Matter
anthem that contrasts the term ‘hate
crime’ with law enforcement’s seeming
love of their ability to commit them.
Redemption is impassioned,
empowering and the perfect way to end a
trilogy that we can only hope gets a sequel.
Sad13
Slugger
Carpark Records
Sadie Dupuis, of Speedy Ortiz fame,
shows fans another side with a solo
project that is a fuzzy, feminist fantasy.
Under the name Sad13, Dupuis leans
away from the harder grunge sounds
of Speedy Ortiz, aiming instead
towards a more pop and electronic
influence. Fortunately, the change of
pace is welcomed.
Slugger is filled with feminist pop
anthems that everyone can dance to.
The 11 songs on the album expertly
weave a narrative that combines
both personal struggles and political
commentary. “Get a Yes” is a song about
consent in relationships; a much-welcomed
break from the American news cycle where
women are constantly told they don’t have
control over their own bodies. Other songs
like “Hype,” confront sexism in the music
industry with fantastic lyrics like, “they still
wanna lick my asshole/ they still wanna buy
what I’m selling them.” Overall, Slugger is an
album that packs a punch while still being
incredibly fun to listen to.
Thee Oh Sees
An Odd Entrances
Castleface Records
Leave it to John Dwyer and co. in Thee
Oh Sees to not only release two albums
in one year, but to release two
albums that manage to be at once
completely different, and yet meant
to play as companions.
A Weird Exits was a snapshot of a
new version of Thee Oh Sees, complete
with new drumming tandem Ryan
Moutinho and Dan Rincon, making a
case that, while they’ve always been
known primarily for their raucous live
show, they could reach excellence as a studio
band as well. That album landed fairly far on
the more psychedelic side of Thee Oh Sees
discography, filled with Hendrix-esque guitar
heroics, but anchored with pummeling
krautrock-inspired rhythms that helped
keep even the wooziest elements of the
songs grounded.
An Odd Entrances dives even further
into the transcendent qualities of krautrock,
slowing down the tempo overall and offering
up even more new looks (see: bossa nova
pastiche on “At The End, On The Stairs,” and
folkloric balladry on “The Poem”) from a
band that never ceases to bring garage rock
to surprising new places.
Young Mammals
Jaguar
Odd Hours Records
Although Young Mammals originate
from Houston, the sound of the band’s
latest offering, Jaguar, would beg to differ.
Layered with carefree, twangy guitars and
dreamlike vocals, Jaguar can conjure
the breezy atmosphere of a beach
instantaneously. The sound of summer
is practically bursting out of this record,
melting through chunks of coldness that the
winter season carries with it, but that does
not necessarily mean that the entire
album is memorable. The majority of
Jaguar blends together, nearly seamlessly,
so while it does not make for the most
surprising or interesting listen, it capitalizes
on what works. Since the majority of
tracks fall under three minutes, the album
flows quick, making it easy to commit to
in a short amount of time.
Standout tracks include the
irresistibly catchy title track “Jaguar” and
slow-burner “Heavenly,” which feature strong
lyrics and vocals that steal the show. While
the lyrics on other tracks match the music
well enough, they are easily forgettable and
there is room for more creativity. However,
as the band’s name states, Young Mammals
is young, and the amount of potential Jaguar
showcases is exciting.
Sort of Damocles
When I Die Throw My Body In The Garbage
Boat Dreams From The Hill
The sonic equivalent of looking through pictures of people and good times that
have passed you by, Sort of Damocles captures melancholy in its most gentle
and beautiful form. This is an album that asks the listener to contemplate and
reflect, as it is music that lends itself to introspection.
Cheap High
Subterranean Suburbia (LP)
Dipstick Records
A product of the burgeoning post-punk scene in Abbotsford, Cheap High
comes out swinging with their debut, Subterranean Suburbia. Creeping with
post-punk tension, the album takes fans into Cheap High’s dystopian nightmare
of superficial relationships and a willingly isolated and apathetic society.
Expressing the frustration, rage, and emptiness of modern living, the album
pairs its Joy Division tendencies with clever, image-heavy lyrics. In all, Cheap
High proves that post-punk is far from dead.
Mother Upduff
The Decay (EP)
Independent
Mother Upduff’s most recent EP does not shy away from its roots, with psychedelic
noise rock overtones leading the way. The heavy, bluesy, and soulful
album brings to mind a grittier sound of soul power, not unlike the Black Keys.
“Concept and Scope” sounds like a James Bond theme from the days of yore,
while the dogged guitars of “Parnassus Drive” make you feel as if you’re in a
dark, smoky blues club. The album is bare and raw – no special effects here –
as the band continues to embrace its live sound with its strained (and at times,
sharp) vocals.
Little Crow
Little Crow
Independent
An atmospheric debut release that exhales a melancholy tale, acoustic-alternative
duo Little Crow deliver a soft-spoken yet powerful record that touches on
subjects of love, heartbreak, and fading memories. A haunting effort fueled by
pure emotion, this four-song EP holds greatly produced recordings of beautiful,
radio-worthy tracks that leave you wanting more.
Winona Forever
This is Fine
Independent
This is Fine is a distorted collection of poppy indie-rock songs that will surely
get you groovin’. Winona Forever’s catchy opening tracks bring to mind laying
on the beach during a relaxing summer day, sipping a refreshing beverage,
smiling as the sun smiles upon you.
With elements of garage rock, alternative, and pop, the indie-darlings
from Langley, BC deliver a likeable, upbeat record.
Post Death Soundtrack
The Unlearning Curve
Independent
PDS have crafted a consistent stream of tracks that utilize a broad range
of instrumentation while still retaining a linear mood and tone that carries
through most of the album. Due to the consistency in the songwriting,
each song serves as a fairly good reflection for the rest of the album. Each
track is cool and foreboding, giving off an air of intrigue and edginess, with
an overarching sense of melancholy that runs throughout.
36 REVIEWS
December 2016

LIVE REVIEWS
PUP, Meat Wave, Chastity
The Cobalt
November 21, 2016
It may have been a Monday night,
but it sure felt like a Friday at the
Cobalt for PUP’s first Vancouver
show in almost two years.
Completely sold out, the venue
was nearly packed for the night’s
first opener Chastity. Hailing
from Whitby, Ontario, frontman/
songwriter Brandon Williams
and his band started the night off
strong. Mixing a singer-songwriter
approach with elements of hardcore,
emo, and post-rock, Chastity put
on an impressive performance.
During the last two tracks, Williams
opted to spend the rest of his time
performing in the crowd or on top of
tables and getting the crowd moving.
An early sign the night was going to
be a wild one.
Second on the bill was Chicago’s
Meat Wave. With an already warmed
up crowd, Meat Wave blasted into
their furious brand of garage punk
without hesitation. Although it
was obvious most of the crowd
had never heard Meat Wave before,
that didn’t stop them from playing
as hard and fast as they could. By
the end of the set beers were flying
and people were moshing wildly:
a great first appearance for Meat
Wave in Vancouver.
As wild as things got, it was
all practice for when PUP hit the
stage. As a band from Toronto who
tours almost constantly, having
nearly two years between shows
in Vancouver seems like a major
oversight. Their presence was
surely missed here. Opening up
with their brilliant track “If This
Tour Doesn’t Kill You Then I Will”
from this year’s The Dream is Over,
the audience sang every word along
with frontman Stefan Babcock
and you could seethe smiles creep
across the band members faces’ as
the song went on. Second song in
they played their breakneck-paced
smash hit “DVP” and it was madness
for the rest of the night. The next
hour was filled with songs from all
three of their albums and a nonstop
onslaught of stage divers, crowd
surfers, and people looking for their
missing shoes/glasses.
PUP may not look the part of
your average punk band, but they
certainly perform like one of the best
out there. Nearing the hour mark,
Babcock shouted into the mic “PUP
the band doesn’t believe in encores…
We’re gonna play two more songs
then walk off stage. Have a great
night! ” True to their word they
did, and the crowd did not look
the least bit pissed about it. In
f act, audience members seemed
too smiley, sweaty, and covered
in beer to care about much else.
Simultaneously ferocious and fun,
PUP proved why they are one of the
most-hyped bands of 2016. Hopefully
they don’t take another two years
before returning to Vancouver.
Photo by Timothy Nguyen
YG
Vogue Theatre
Nov 21, 2016
Rapper YG, a Brazy Bompton native,
took the stage twice Monday night with
two sold out shows at the Vogue Theatre
for the Vancouver stop of his Fuck
Donald Trump Tour. The venue’s air was
heavy with the aroma of a particularly
dank sativa, mixed with Polar Ice vodka
shots and, at the earlier all ages show, a
side of “Mom, I’ll be home by 10.”
Dressed in the current go-to
California closet ensemble of designer
plaid, ripped jeans, Eazy-E shades and
shiny gold trainers, YG 400 finessed
some signature tracks like “Toot It
and Boot It,” “Who do you Love?” and
“Why You Always Hating?” The massive
nine-foot tall monitor behind him
broadcasted images of flowing malt
liquor, palm trees and prescription bottles
full of dried herbs, hyping up the crowd
who simultaneously roasted blunts,
echoed lyrics and beat each other up.
YG took the time to reach
out to shirtless audience members and
also pull out his phone to check the
last-minute score of the Raiders game. The
show peaked as YG took a Trumpesque
mannequin onstage, stomping
its head while the crowd chanted
“Fuck Donald Trump.”
The after show scene outside
the venue saw attendees posing for
selfies with dismembered limbs of
Donald Trump in YG hoodies and trying
to convince limo drivers to take them
back to the burbs. Satisfied.
December 2016 REVIEWS
37

KATHLEEN MCGEE
PACIFIC CENTRAL STATION
Ah the Greyhound bus station. Forever a place that no one
really wants to go but since airlines still insist on charging $500
for a round trip to Calgary, it’s a necessary evil. As a Canadian
performer I’ve seen my share of Greyhound stations and as far as
bus station bathrooms go, this one is surprisingly nice.
It has its own security to keep the riff raff out and, besides
having a mysteriously cut up toilet seat, was very clean and well
stocked. It will make taking the Greyhound feel less shameful.
MCDONALD’S
(GRANVILLE & BROADWAY)
It’s important for McDonald’s to have good bathrooms. They
are always needed immediately after dining. The plus about
this bathroom is you don’t need to be buzzed in by the staff. It’s
always nice to find an unlocked public bathroom. This bathroom
however, was too clean. Yes I said it — too clean.
I think I left that bathroom as a blonde because the smell
of bleach was so strong. Also, points taken off for one-ply toilet
paper. Come on McDonald’s, you know the messes your food
makes. You need a two-ply minimum policy at least.
SCOTIA BANK THEATRE
(UPPER LEVEL)
I’m a fan of any bathroom that provides me with reading material,
and Scotia Bank Theatre doesn’t disappoint! Movie posters and
upcoming events are posted in every stall. This experience was
enhanced by the tears of a 14-year-old girl crying to a friend
because they were on a double date and she didn’t think Hunter
was “feeling her.”
This bathroom was overall very clean and very entertaining.
Way to keep the drama on the big screen and out of the bathrooms!
JANUARY 4TH VOGUE THEATRE
DOORS AT 7PM - ALL AGES WELCOME TICKETS AVAILABLE AT TICKETFLY.COM
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