BeatRoute Magazine BC Edition - December 2019

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TOP 10VANCOUVERALBUMSOF 2019By GLENN ALDERSON,EMILY CORLEY, KATHRYNHELMORE BRENDAN LEE andDAYNA MAHANNAHN O 1 N0V3LNOVELFlemish EyeN0V3L have made internationalwaves with their debut, toppingthis year’s list in a psycho-postpunkfashion statement.The album is just shy of 20minutes but grows on the mindlike a well-dressed fungus, soeffortlessly re-listenable thatthe shorter run-length is hardlynoticeable.The six-piece art collectivecapture a post-punk sound reminiscentof 70s and 80s counterculture,when socially consciousbands recognized dancing was anequally effective form of catharsis.N0V3L takes advantage of nontraditionaltime signatures andguitar tuning that feels slightly offkey to send listeners into a calculateddance spiral. Pitchy guitarriffs drive each of the eight tracksfrom front to back, intertwiningthe sturdy basslines with cymbal-heavydrumming. At times, insongs like “Are They,” the guitarstake on a dreamy, shoestring-likequality and at the heart of it all isthe Clash-like cries that are unrelentingin a lyrical message oozingvibes of non-conformity.The experience reaches a climaxwith the finale, a song called“Division,” that starts with a BladeRunner-esque warble of synthsand grows with a vivacious rhythmthat peaks in a forlorn horn section,ending abruptly, like a slippedmisstep off a sheer cliff edge.It’s easy to get lost in NOVEL,imagining yourself on a dim-litdance floor with a swell of noddingheads and swaying bodies allin sync to the same hypnotic beat.N0V3L have delivered a layeredalbum that teleports the listener toanother time, somewhere far fromFollow @beatroutemediato see N0V3L and othersweigh in with theirfavourite albums of 2019!the grips of 2019, leaving themthere to explore the depths oftheir magwnificent new world. (BL)
N O 2 LOUISE BURNSPortraitsLight OrganLouise Burns has been building areputation as an unstoppable forcein the singer-songwriter sphere sinceshe first came spiraling back into thespotlight with her 2010 debut, MellowDrama. The narrative she’s chosen forPortraits is that the rising chanteuseis returning to her pop roots. Afterall, she did cut her teeth in the musicindustry as a member of pop groupLillix, signed and endorsed by noneother than Madonna. However, Portraitsis not vapid pop music lookingto fulfill the next “Call Me Maybe”fix. There’s truth, vulnerability and astrong sense of maturity hanging onthe wall with this release, each trackof Portrait looking back at us with aninformed nuance of calculated newwave precision. (GA)N O 5 DEAD SOFTBig BlueArts & CraftsBoth grunge-heavy lament and indie-punksentiment find genuine spacein Big Blue, Dead Soft’s second album.Hazy instrumentals and frontmanNathaniel Epp’s mollifying-to-inflamedvocals prove the dynamic undergroundparagons have outgrown the living roomrock scene. The polarity of frustrationsaround the high cost of city living andbliss in their new home on secludedGabriola Island inspire Blue, notably onthe melodic pop-punk “I Believe You”and the shoegazey saunter-to-run of“Step Out.” Bassist/backup vocalistKeeley Rochon’s voice is a deviation anddelight on “The Static.” Big Blue’s bigsound and mushrooming dynamism isworth making space for. (DM)N O 7 KRISTIN WITKOZone of ExclusionKingfisher BluezWhile filled with hooks and undeniablydanceable, listeners dare notunderestimate the grit and swaggerat the core of Kristen Witko’s Zone ofExclusion. The high-energy album fromAbbotsford performance artist featuresboppy percussion and delightful guitarriffs while tackling themes such asloneliness, exclusion and identity. Witko’ssharp lyricism is a punch to the gutwhile her arrangements swing from fun,funky and catchy disco rhythm to wildand unabated chaos. An unpredictableboomerang of emotion underpins analbum that effortlessly talks about love,identity and isolation without sacrificingold school rhythm. Best Track: I’dRather It Be With You (KH)N O 9 SWIM TEAMVIndependentV is the quietly remarkable avant-gardetrio Swim Team’s third official release.The self-recorded album is poised onan exquisite knife edge between darkwave and no wave. The vocals oscillatebetween punk (see opener “Brick”) andaching tenderness on artfully interspersedtracks “Garden” and “Rabbit.”The record follows this undulation ofspiky urgency (“Mango”) infused withsoft, eerie pop, ending in tightly wounddissonance - an incongruence best consumedin conjunction with trippy visualsat the band’s website.Swim Team has gone quiet on thelive front since summer, but V deservesway more attention than it received uponrelease. (EC)N O 3 SNOTTY NOSEREZ KIDSTraplineSNRK Music / Fontana NorthTrapline is the latest assault of hip-hopbangers from the Haisla rap duo outof Kitimat that’s equal parts celebrationand commentary on a rapidlydisappearing culture deserving of thespotlight. Darren “Young D” Metz andQuinton “Yung Trybez” Nyce can spitwith the best and the long list of beatswill make even the most casual rap fanhowl like a junkyard dog. SNRK havea contagious momentum and forcefulsound that ignites a little light in thedepths of the soul. Trapline is muchmore than just a rap album, somethingcloser to a mainstream brand of poetrythat demands recognition but begs,“don’t get caught in the trap.” (BL)N O 4 K!MMORTALX Marks the SwirlCOAX Records2018’s In Another Life found SandroPerri experimenting with form, stretchingideas out in ways that always feltin service of the song. In his hands,those songs were ripe for exploration,and he made each journey compelling.The music on Soft Landing feels justas patient, curious and playful. Theendlessly unspooling “Time (You GotMe)” opens the record with its dreamy,contemplative melody, its lyrics sweetlysuggesting a sort of surrender. Thesongs that follow, brought to life withan all-star cast of players, don’t beg foryour attention so much as they invitelisteners to be enveloped and carriedaway along with them. (MR)N O 6 STRANGE BREEDPermanence.IndependentRising swiftly from the musical outskirtsof Vancouver and headfirst intothe maelstrom of the current politicalclimate, Strange Breed is a cathartic hitof head-banging, feminist garage rock.The four-piece band’s debut studioalbum forges into issues evocative ofthe 90s riot grrrl movement (brutally,as relevant as ever)—the patriarchyand gender inequality being at theforefront. Gritty punk ballads dedicatedto female empowerment and consentbreakaway to all-out rock and rollexaltations of sexuality. Permanence.contains the rebel spirit of The Runawaysand legitimizes the simple joy ofjumping on your bed, screaming alongto the lyrics. (DM)N O 8 APOLLO GHOSTSLiving MemoryIndependentIn October, Apollo Ghosts transcendedtheir indie-rock roots and climbed theambient stairway to ethereal heightswith Living Memory.A slow and meditative album, it is aeulogy to frontman Adrian Teacher’sfather, a victim of alzheimers disease.Undulating instrumentals and meditativehumming are hypnotizing, taking thelistener on a sorrowful yet cathartic trip.Seeing parallels between the deathof his father and the systematic death ofBC’s cedar forests, the album is also ameditation on climate change. While it’sgloomy, it’s not all doom: 100 per cent ofproceeds are going towards CanadianParks and Wilderness Society and theUNIST’OT’TEN Legal Fund. (KH)N O 10 DEVOURSIconoclastArtoffactAn Iconoclast is someone who attacksanother’s cherished beliefs or institutions,and Devours’ Jeff Cancadehas been made to feel that way attimes throughout his life. But the painof living in such a marginalized wayhas culminated in a deeply thoughtfulcollection of songs.The album is a ten-song testimonytowards the darkness that creeps inthe heart but at the same time is ablast to pick up your sneakers andvibe to. There’s a digitized madnessthat bubbles in each electro-poptrack, and the album is a must listenfor anyone who broods yet yearns tofeel alive.(BL)
Page 1: THE YEAR (AND DECADE) IN REVIEWSPEC
Page 4 and 5: DECEMBERSPECIALISSUETHE YEAR& DECAD
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Page 9: BEATROUTETOP 10 ARTISTS OF THE DECA
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Page 15 and 16: MERT & MARCUSThe Decade's Most Infl
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Page 19 and 20: BEATROUTETHEBEATPOETSIn the summer
Page 21 and 22: FestiveFestive fun for adults only!
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Page 29 and 30: N O 3TRAVIS SCOTT -LOOK MOM I CAN F
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Page 33 and 34: N o 4HarryStylesThe headlines have
Page 35 and 36: 12.19YVRKEITHMAS:The Ultimate Foodb
Page 37 and 38: TEACH ME A SONGSitting in her Musco
Page 39: DINE ALONE RECORDS2019 WRAPPEDCITY

BeatRoute Magazine BC Edition - December 2019

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