05.12.2018 Views

BeatRoute Magazine BC Edition December 2018

BeatRoute Magazine is a monthly arts and entertainment paper with a predominant focus on music – local, independent or otherwise. The paper started in June 2004 and continues to provide a healthy dose of perversity while exercising rock ‘n’ roll ethics. Currently BeatRoute’s AB edition is distributed in Calgary, Edmonton (by S*A*R*G*E), Banff and Canmore. The BC edition is distributed in Vancouver, Victoria and Nanaimo. BeatRoute (AB) Mission PO 23045 Calgary, AB T2S 3A8 E. editor@beatroute.ca BeatRoute (BC) #202 – 2405 E Hastings Vancouver, BC V5K 1Y8 P. 778-888-1120

BeatRoute Magazine is a monthly arts and entertainment paper with a predominant focus on music – local, independent or otherwise. The paper started in June 2004 and continues to provide a healthy dose of perversity while exercising rock ‘n’ roll ethics.

Currently BeatRoute’s AB edition is distributed in Calgary, Edmonton (by S*A*R*G*E), Banff and Canmore. The BC edition is distributed in Vancouver, Victoria and Nanaimo. BeatRoute (AB) Mission PO 23045 Calgary, AB T2S 3A8 E. editor@beatroute.ca BeatRoute (BC) #202 – 2405 E Hastings Vancouver, BC V5K 1Y8 P. 778-888-1120

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

Best of <strong>2018</strong> | Top 25 Local Releases<br />

By Glenn Alderson, Lyndon Chiang, Esmée Colbourne, Heath Fenton, Keir Nicoll, Jennie Orton, Mitch Ray, Daniel Robichaud, Graeme Wiggins, Mat Wilkins, Jordan Yeager<br />

Art d’Ecco<br />

Trespasser (Paperbag Records)<br />

There’s a playfulness, an almost<br />

frustrated energy of rebellion mixed<br />

with bedroom eyes nihilism on<br />

Trespasser. Whether it’s the relentless<br />

earworm that is “Never Tell,” or the<br />

Orbison croon behind “Mary,” this<br />

is an album that is addictive in its<br />

all-encompassing expanse. Trespasser<br />

is a dance floor flooded by the smoke<br />

machine where you can almost pretend<br />

you’re the only one there; like John<br />

Travolta before he sold his soul. (JO)<br />

I M U R<br />

Thirty33 (Independent)<br />

I M U R’s third studio album is both<br />

a continuation of the group’s dark,<br />

introspective electro-R&B and a step<br />

towards the light. Where I M U R has<br />

always made songs that are raw and<br />

vulnerable – this project is no exception<br />

– they continue to push forward with a<br />

positive perspective. (JY)<br />

Mathew V<br />

The Fifth (604 Records)<br />

Perhaps it’s in the high caliber emotive<br />

vocal performances, maybe the<br />

songwriting or the glossy production<br />

but this album proves that we have a<br />

big name pop star on the loose in our<br />

town. (QT)<br />

Humans<br />

Going Late (Haven Sounds)<br />

Humans deliver a mature and informed<br />

take on electronic music with breathy<br />

vocals, pulsating percussion and airy,<br />

spaced out mixes, inciting you to stay<br />

up all night and dance. (KN)<br />

ACDATYOUNGN*GGA –<br />

((MEmyself&ihatepeople))<br />

(((ihatepeople))/Opposition)<br />

Vancouver rap music sometimes comes<br />

across as slightly behind the times.<br />

ACDATYOUNGN*GGA is working<br />

to lead the charge in changing that<br />

reputation with a seven-song EP (a<br />

format having it’s moment) of hook<br />

laden, pulsing rap music that fits with<br />

the finest off of the Rap Caviar playlist.<br />

(GW)<br />

Baptists – Beacon Of Faith<br />

(Southern Lord)<br />

Baptists’ third fully is their most evolved<br />

release yet. Not many bands can<br />

strike that balance of unhinged and<br />

technical without losing some of each,<br />

but this screams of a band that has full<br />

confidence in who they are and what<br />

they’re capable of. (MR)<br />

ACTORS – It Will Come To You<br />

(Artoffact Records)<br />

A linchpin figure of the local scene<br />

releases their best to date. Music for<br />

dark nights, sunny days, time alone or<br />

with the ones you love, this album is the<br />

pinnacle of intersecting tastes. (QT)<br />

We Are the City – At Night<br />

(Light Organ)<br />

Polished west coast idols We Are The<br />

City are back at it with a collection<br />

of their best beats yet. Dreamy, their<br />

open-air ambiance has become fuzzier<br />

and thorny. This is a gripping album<br />

worthy of many listens. (EC)<br />

Malcolm Jack - Mirror Moon<br />

(Independent)<br />

With Capital 6 and Dada Plan, Jack<br />

elevated Vancouver’s indie psych scene<br />

for years, but Mirror Moon saw him<br />

transition from lo-fi troubadour to<br />

progressive Americana folk mindblower.<br />

His lyrics are cerebral as ever,<br />

propelling him to a musical plateau as<br />

slick as Dan Mangan or Calexico. (AR)<br />

Jo Passed – Their Prime (Royal<br />

Mountain)<br />

More lyrical than Jo Passed’s earlier<br />

work, Their Prime shifts into melodic<br />

dream pop while staying true to their<br />

fuzzy, jam band roots. This is a grown<br />

up exploration of fear and transition<br />

interwoven with tasty feedback. (EC)<br />

WTCHDR - Failed Ambition<br />

(Independent)<br />

Vitriolic honesty is the ingredient that<br />

sticks out here. Add in some frantic<br />

rhythmic assaults and some big, fat,<br />

spine-curving beatdown riffs and<br />

you’ll have some very bitter, very tasty<br />

lemonade. (DR)<br />

Rich Hope – I Come Alive<br />

(Planned Obsolescence)<br />

One of Vancouver’s finest delivers a slab<br />

of soulful wax chock full of swagger and<br />

bluesy rock ’n’ roll. Playful and sinister,<br />

I’m All Yours will make you cut a rug,<br />

peel your tires and rob a bank with<br />

nothing but a smile. (DR)<br />

Phono Pony – Monkey Paw<br />

(Independent)<br />

This quirky multi-dimensional duo<br />

has cracked the code with this spaced<br />

out collection of polished college<br />

rock. Monkey Paw has a healthy mix<br />

of garage, blues, electronic and pop,<br />

making for a truly unique musical<br />

experience. (GA)<br />

Autogramm - What R U<br />

Waiting 4? (Nevado Records)<br />

Synth heavy power pop played with<br />

conviction, Autogramm have delievered<br />

an album full of driving hooks and<br />

sensible melodies. These old-timers are<br />

making a new sound that’s sure to get<br />

you moving. (GA)<br />

Brass – For Everyone (Never<br />

Go Home)<br />

Think of “Coral” – a mild anesthetic –<br />

and “Blue Pt. 2” – a heavy sedative – as<br />

the medically required bookends to the<br />

willfully reckless, manic jaunt that is<br />

For Everyone. Beware the dangerously<br />

contagious energy within from these<br />

punks! (DR)<br />

Bored Decor - The Colour Red<br />

(Independent)<br />

With their debut LP The Colour Red,<br />

Bored Decor serves up a heaping<br />

helping of energetic glam punk. Drums<br />

crash, guitars hiss and scream, and<br />

keyboards pound out frenetic melodies<br />

along politically charged, new-wavestyle<br />

vocals. (MW)<br />

Parlour Panther – Hot Magic<br />

(Independent)<br />

This queer soul rock trio’s goal with Hot<br />

Magic was an album that was to deliver<br />

a declaration of love of being true to<br />

one’s self and it succeeds. Their lyrics are<br />

bold and the vocal delivery captivating.<br />

They’ve really put themselves in that<br />

rarified spot of creating something<br />

uniquely their own — inspirational and<br />

sexy. (GW)<br />

Junk – Audio Heroin (Junk<br />

Music)<br />

Wit, wordplay and big beats round<br />

out this impressive offering from Junk.<br />

The young rapper has got a flow that<br />

stands tall on its own but he’s also<br />

invited some big names along for the<br />

ride, including CyHi The Prynce. Audio<br />

Heroin is Junk living his truth on his<br />

best offering to date. (GA)<br />

Kellarissa - Ocean Electro<br />

(Mint Records)<br />

Larissa Loyva has one of the strongest<br />

voices in Canadian music, and she put<br />

it to good use on her third solo album.<br />

Ocean Electro hammered home the<br />

weight of her progressive lyrics with<br />

dynamic, driving synth-pop. (AR)<br />

We Hunt Buffalo - Head<br />

Smashed In (Fuzzorama)<br />

Just reading the title, we knew what we<br />

were in for with this one. The hardhitting,<br />

bluesy, psychedelic sludge this<br />

power trio mustered on their third<br />

album could just about fill a tar pit or<br />

explode a Mastodon’s heart. (AR)<br />

The Prettys – Tapas<br />

(Independent)<br />

Back at the table with Tapas, The<br />

Prettys waste no time getting into it,<br />

serving up a generous helping of garage<br />

pop bangers that demand your full<br />

attention, right up until the last course.<br />

Lié - Hounds (Mint Records)<br />

Hostile and very aggressive, Hounds is<br />

the album equivalent of walking down<br />

a street on a crisp, cold night ready to<br />

incite violence. (EC)<br />

La Chinga - Beyond the Sky<br />

(Small Stone)<br />

This skuz jamming power trio has<br />

been injecting pure ‘70s stadium rawk<br />

in their veins since 2012, and they<br />

practically overdosed on their third<br />

album, Beyond the Sky. Where Greta<br />

Van Fleet are merely boys, La Chinga<br />

proved their manhood. (AR)<br />

Ruby Karinto – Ruby Karinto<br />

(Hozac)<br />

Ruby Karinto’s Self-Titled LP is raw,<br />

dissonant, and weirdly addictive. A<br />

crazy collection of analog synth leads,<br />

bilingual Japanese-English vocals, over<br />

a garage rock rhythm section. The type<br />

of stuff Siri and Alexa would make love<br />

to. (LC)<br />

Process – Structural Fatigue<br />

(Independent)<br />

This long awaited debut is an<br />

unexpected headbutt to extreme metal.<br />

With a refreshing take and a unique<br />

stamp on the genre, Process makes<br />

punishment fun and brutal. (HF)<br />

24<br />

<strong>December</strong> <strong>2018</strong>

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!