BeatRoute Magazine AB Edition September 2019

Local Band
Spotlight
Calgary postpunkers
find a
time signature
that works for
everyone on
Foreign Bodies
By SEBASTIAN BUZZALINO
SUNGLACIERS
SEBASTIAN BUZZALINO
E
very now and then, the
trajectory of a solo recording
project unexpectedly changes
direction after a chance
encounter, like placing a small
rock in a new stream to divert
the course of a future river. For songwriter
Evan Resnik, that was meeting up with
drummer Mathieu Blanchard in early 2017.
Resnik was writing complex, mathy songs as
Sunglaciers and put out a call for a drummer
who could lay down some rhythm on an EP
he was working on.
Blanchard answered and the pair clicked,
joining forces as a duo, inspiring new ideas
and material to try in a live setting. As Resnik
puts it, Blanchard is a “real man of action” and
within the next year the two-piece had two
new EPs.
Blanchard also broke Resnik out of his
comfort zone, bringing in a host of new influences
that began to reshape the Sunglaciers
sound, moving it away from technical and
mathy art rock towards more garage, surf and
post-punk influences.
As Sunglaciers continued to evolve, the
material started to pile up. They recorded two
EPs and, almost immediately, had enough
material for a third, which expanded into what
would become their debut full-length, Foreign
Bodies.
The band expanded to a four-piece, bringing
in Kyle Crough on bass and Helen Young
on synths, and their sound continued to
mature both in its willingness to experiment
with different influences and styles, as well
as in its certainty and confidence at the core
of each song. The full-length, Foreign Bodies,
sounds like a fully-realized idea, drawing from
post-punk at its core and layering in garage,
surf, musique concrète and noise influences.
During this whole process, Resnik’s songwriting
style was changed by his band members’
influences, pushing him out of his safe zones.
“The second track, ‘Dream Fever,’ if you
asked me three years ago, I’d say it was way
too simplistic, slow-moving, and plodding,”
says Resnik. “Mathieu and I went down to
Mexico City and we stayed at an Airbnb that
had a jam space in it. Instead of seeing the
city for a week, we just played music all day
and then went out to drink mezcal. It was then
that ‘Dream Fever’ was conceived, and was
actually one of the first times that Matt really
exerted his influence over a song. He wanted
to take a simple idea that was good and stay
within those confines. Every time I wanted to
switch it up, change the time signature, or cut
off a measure, he would reign me in.”
Reflecting on how things have changed
since he met Blanchard, Resnik seems more
confident and self-assured having finally
found his place not only as a musician, but
also his artistic voice in the larger community.
“It’s been really exciting,” he says. “it’s been
a period of good growth and I’m starting to
wise up to how all of this works, how I can
carve my own place in it all.”
Friday, September 13 / The Palomino
Tix: $12, showpass.com
SEPTEMBER 2019 BEATROUTE 43