Beatroute Magazine BC Print Edition - September 2017

Belle Game - Fear Nothing Brand New - Science Fiction Death From Above - Outrage! Is Now
Belle Game
Fear Nothing
Arts & Crafts
Through sonic walls of booming rhythms
and strung-out synth lines, Vancouver
crush pop group Belle Game create
a unique and dynamic experience
throughout their sophomore LP, Fear
Nothing.
Led by vocalist Andrea Lo, the band
manages to pack the 10 song album with
full and precise arrangements from track
to track. Subtle guitar lines and acoustic
drums scattered amongst songs create
natural elements without taking away
from the pop sensibilities put in place
by wavering synthesizers and striking
keys. Though rarely sparse or static in
arrangement, Belle Game does a great
job of never suffocating the listener
with sound, as instrumentals remain
organized throughout.
Performances by Lo on Fear Nothing
are consistently tasteful, often acting
as a strong addition to the regimented
tirade of instrumentation, though at
times punching through to become a
focal point. As synths sizzle and steady
bass drum hits gallop into existence on
the opening track “Shine,” Lo’s vocals
seem to command the soundscape as
they appear before the wall of sound.
On the standout track “Bring Me,” Lo
belts the opening lines as keys punch
her performance home with striking
effectiveness.
Fear Nothing remains consistently
strong thanks to precise walls of
instrumentation and captivating vocal
performances by Lo. By blending natural
and electronic elements, Belle Game
offer the listener a powerful album that
never suffocates or remains static.
• Nathan Kunz
Brand New
Science Fiction
Procrastinate! Music Traitors
For the first time in eight years, Brand
New has finally released a new album.
The band rose to superstar status in
the world of nostalgic emo bands,
dominating the minds of high school
kids through a formidable mix of
melodramatic lyrics and vengeful
guitars. Brand New fans are extremely
passionate and patient for good reason,
as the band always delivers on songs with
the potential to become immortal and
sacred. However, the band’s past three
albums have set the bar high and Science
Fiction falls short for the amount of time
it took to create.
When fans say they love the album, but
believe another album is on the way,
something is wrong. Science Fiction is
a solid offering with some of the best
tracks the band has ever recorded, but
there are too many flaws for an album
that’s taken this long. In fact, a few songs
suffer from a stretched out length like
album opener “Lit Me Up“ and “Batter
Up,” two tracks with underwhelming
song progression compared to other
longer tracks like “Same Logic/Teeth.”
The worst song “Could Never Be Heaven”
features an acoustic melody that doesn’t
suit Jesse Lacey’s vocals, failing to rival
other softer Brand New classics. Even
then, the album’s lows aren’t much
to complain about. From Nirvana
to Modest Mouse, the band does
justice to their influences without ever
compromising their own identity. It’s
hard not to wish for more of The Devil
and God Raging Inside Me on this album,
but Science Fiction offers a satisfying
conclusion to a legacy that has affected
thousands and will affect generations to
come.
• Paul McAleer
Death From Above
Outrage! Is Now
Dine Alone Records
In the current music industry landscape,
three years can feel like a damn long
time.
It’s hard to say that Death From Above
(1979) are a legacy act, but Outrage! Is
Now does its damndest to make the
case, ultimately feeling less like DFA and
more DOA.
The Torontonian duo once known for
deftly blending hard rock with proto-
EDM return on the scene feeling like
stale egalitarians preaching a “both sides
are just as bad” apathetic message full of
year-old cliché and rote, riff-rocky tunes.
Instead of offering any semblance of
thought-provoking lyrics, Outrage! stays
on the sideline, instead pointing out the
painfully obvious trends that anyone
with an internet connection already
knew.
The most egregious lyric lies in “Freeze
Me,” with Sebastian Granger pondering
“are we outside the safe spaces of love?”
It reads like a cynical mockery of safe
space initiatives that help minorities feel
at home in scenes that often feel hostile
to their very existence.
Overall, Outrage! Is a special kind of
middling. Not outright terrible, but so
mediocre that it makes you question if
the band has always been this ok. Fond
memories of the band’s past albums
dissipate, leaving only a cloudy image
of a band that once felt revolutionary
dirtying that air with a gaseous explosion
of radio rock gone awry.
• Jamie McNamara
Emily Haines & The Soft
Skeleton
Choir of the Mind
Last Gang Records
Over 10 years after releasing her first
solo endeavour, Knives Don’t Have Your
Back, Emily Haines is back with Choir
of The Mind. The album once again
centers around her piano playing and
poetic prose style, but here her vocals
are used to create venerable layers of
instrumentation. Where Haines’ project
previously focused on the misery that
comes with loss, she’s more hopeful here,
exploring the inner recesses of her mind
and the strengths of femininity.
For Haines, feminine strength comes
from softness. On “Strangle All
Romance” she is ghostly and rough; vocal
reverberations through a mountain
valley. It’s deeply personal, her equivalent
of flexing a muscle. She sings: “Love is my
labour of life/ we’ll tear it up.” The song
transitions into “Wounded,” where she
acknowledges the repercussions of her
open heart.
“Statuette” galvanizes on these themes
further, examining the traditional
hierarchy between men and women in
relation to social power. Haines replicates
these roles to place her at the feet of a
male contemporary, who has the creed
and material possessions to “buy any girl
in the world.” The backing beat mimics
the worst type of elevator music, adding
to the sleaze of her counterpart.
The standout is the title track, “Choir
of the Mind.” It’s as if the artist has voiced
all of the concurrent thoughts within
her head to create a deconstructed
monologue atop her own meditative
lullaby. It’s poetic, melodic, and painfully
introspective.
Haines has a way of evoking drama
through her pace, which is often her
biggest asset. Some may be turned off by
Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton - Choir of the
Mind
the downtempo scenes she creates, but
for a reflective listener, it’s an exercise in
meditation.
• Trent Warner
Julie & The Wrong Guys
Julie & The Wrong Guys
Dine Alone
By masterfully creating a union of
delicacy and aggression, Julie & The
Wrong Guys concoct a powerfully
potent mixture on their debut self-titled
LP.
Over the distorted riffs of Eamon
McGrath and a thumping rhythm
section courtesy of Mike Schwarzer and
Mike Peters of Cancer Bats, Canadian
indie legend Julie Doiron (formerly
of Sub Pop heros Eric’s Trip) delivers
vocal performances tuned to each
track individually. On lead single “You
Wanted What I Wanted,” Doiron strikes
with urgently strained lines between
screeching guitar licks at the chorus,
then drops into a laid back tone as notes
are softly and precisely picked through
the verses. Later, on “Tracing my own
Lines,” Doiron sings with a soft fragility
over an open, breathing instrumental
track of steady bass drum strikes and
chugging guitar, accented occasionally
with shaking thunderous strums.
The bands power throughout the ten
track LP lays not in an expected display
of volume, but rather their keen sense
of effective strikes and heavy tones.
McGrath’s twisting western-tinged guitar
lines on “Farther from You” beautifully
contrast a darker driving rhythm section,
eventually tying together at the refrain
with explosive effectiveness.
Acting as a modern day odd couple,
Julie & The Wrong Guys blend elements
from across the spectrum beautifully
and to great effect, making their debut
powerfully raw and unpredictable from
start to finish.
• Nathan Kunz
Nosaj Thing
Parallels
Innovative Leisure
Two years after having his gear and
archives stolen while touring through
Houston, Nosaj Thing has released
his fourth studio album, Parallels.
The 10-track album opens up with
“Nowhere,” a song that starts with the
sense of the confusing echo of reboot
Julie The Wrong Guys - Julie The Wrong Guys
and then launches into melodic waves a
la Philip Glass; tense, shifting in tonality,
and laced with a strange undercurrent.
Shocked by a muffled vocal sample that
states the album’s title, the track breaks
tack and drifts to its finale. Awakened by
a warm and grimy bass line “All Points
Back To U,” featuring Steve Spacek,
folds the listener into layers of sound
that reverberate back to the roots of
Nosaj Thing’s style on 2009’s Drift,
but with an elevated sense of space.
Spacek’s vocals provide a sense of forced
reflection that Nosaj Thing’s usual pure
instrumentation simply cannot. “Get
Like” glaringly defines the oscillating
conceptual line of emotional flux that
has now fully permeated Nosaj Thing’s
evolving musical style. Deep in the warm,
heavy bass there’s a spirit of courage and
aspiration pushing to overcome the pull
of depression. “Way We Were” featuring
Zuri Marley picks the record back up
and infuses an air of R&B that’s soothes
with the desire of possibility. Marley’s
resonant colour uplifts just enough to
shine some light without breaking the
album’s dark through line. “IGYC” pulls
the listener back into a refractory cave
atmosphere, a chamber of reflected
sound, glittering, strange and fading
without consideration. “Sister” finds the
end of the record with swells of hope
and a rough hewn bass drum that drive
with strength out of a valley of confused
darkness, and yet the very last sound is
still jilted.
• Andrew R. Mott
Queens of the Stone
Age
Villains
Matador Records
Perhaps Queens of the Stone Age
frontman Josh Homme’s most
underrated talent is his ability to make
anything that he works on sound like a
QOTSA record, no matter the personnel
involved. That’s been true for the past
six QOTSA albums, and even with pop
producer Mark Ronson, it’s true for
Villains.
While bringing Ronson, who’s past
credits include Amy Winehouse and
Bruno Mars, aboard may seem like a
leftfield move, the results are almost
disappointingly similar to 2015’s …Like
Clockwork, because, after all, to quote
Josh Homme himself on “Make It Wit
Chu,” “Sometimes the same is different,
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September 2017