Guitarist Gina Gleason Breathes New Life into Baroness - Interview

Baroness Crowns a New Queen

by Christine Leonard

Monarchs and butterflies. Baroness rules their field.

When BeatRoute last touched base with melodic metal monarch John Dyer Baizley, the leader of Savannah, Georgia’s Baroness, it was mid-2016 and singer/guitarist/visual artist was in a warehouse in England, or as he puts it “an alternate universe version of preparing for the tour by rehearsing a lot.” Having subsequently introduced Europe to their moody Grammy-nominated album Purple, the first release on the quartet’s newfound Abraxan Hymns record label, Baizley more recently found himself looking for another mountain to summit. That challenge unexpectedly arrived when longtime friend and member Pete Adams announced his amicable departure from the band after a decade of providing backing guitars and vocals. Fortunately for Baizley and remaining crew, bassist Nick Jost and drummer Sebastian, the next ascendant to the royal family was waiting in the wings, axe in hand.

“It was just one of the easiest and perhaps luckiest things that’s happened to us in our career,” says Baizley of Baroness’s acquisition of guitarist Gina Gleason. “We got really lucky, Gina is an incredible player and she’s got a great attitude. She is an incredibly diligent and hardworking musician. We have found yet another incredible musician to join the band and do what we love doing.”

Novelty never entered the picture according to Baizley, who perceives the recruitment of a woman to Baroness’s muscular lineup with an open mind and a discerning ear; just as he did for the ingestion of Jost and Thomson in 2013.

“Much the same as when Nick and Sebastian joined the band, our response time between members has been phenomenally fast and often seamless. I’m always afraid there’s going to be some extremely laborious process of integration and chemistry building, but it’s just never been that big of an issue for us. Her qualifications for joining the band and becoming a member of Baroness had nothing to do with gender. Anybody with her skill level that had shown interest would have gotten it. It just happened to be her. We couldn’t be happier.”

Baizley continues. “Additionally, I’d like to think that this band is now, and has always been, a place where ideas like gender or age or race aren’t significant to who we work with and how we work with those people. It is awesome. If I’m being honest, I don’t’ think we see enough of it out there in our scene. It can feel a bit male-dominated, I’m might be the wrong person to even say that being a male myself, but she’s proof made flesh that your gender has virtually no bearing to what you’re able to accomplish and the way you’re capable accomplishing it. And I’m really glad that I can say this about this band and about this woman.”

Well-past the terrifying 2012 road wreck that crippled the band and effectively broke them in twain, Baizley is in a better place both physically and mentally. He explains that the group would have “more than likely” gone down an alternate path if destiny hadn’t intervened “had we not experienced what we experienced on the first tour for Yellow & Green (2012 Relapse Records) – which, of course, is when we had that flying bus accident off the cliff – had we not suffered that and lost members and had to rebuild and restructure…” It’s amazing how things can change in an instant. “When we were a younger band, we played seven days a week. After I was injured… I’ve got the type of injury where I’m a better musician if I get a few days off a week.”

Taking time to recharge and write has been beneficial and by Baizley’s estimates a “not uncolourful” release from the freshly-forged Baroness is lurking right around the corner. An accomplished painter and illustrator in his own right, Baizley was actually completing the artwork for their yet-to-be-unveiled album’s cover as this interview was being conducted.

“We’ve finished recording the next album and now we’re just in the process of figuring out how, when, where, why, what it’s going to look like. With each record we lean into something entirely different. We really pushed as creatives and as songwriters with this new record. We were without a doubt a difficult group of people to satisfy. We held ourselves to a very high standard creatively and wrote something that I think some people will like. I like the Hell out of it. I think it’s the best record we’ve ever done. I’m extremely excited.”

Baroness perform March 23 at The Palace (Calgary)

22nd, March 2019 

in • AB - Features, • Rockpile, FEATURED, MUSIC

Flashback "Heathen of Influence" - Album Review

Flashback
Heathen of Influence

There’s no dressing up a Heathen of Influence, so you might as well grab your best denim vest and join the festivities when Flashback throws down the proverbial metal-studded gauntlet.

A long, Sabbathy, drag off a perilously short cigarette, the Calgary-based outfit’s third LP burns from tip to filter with an arsenal of hemispheric headnodders.

Raised in the den of the Steppenwolf, the single “Widow’s Breath” is a sonic saga infused with a lust for life and liberty that would have Fonda and Hopper delivering drive-by high-fives from beyond the grave. Epic guitar swells and pounding percussion set the four-man warship a-heave as vocalist/guitarist Aidan Demarais’s commanding growl gouges through a sea of sludge.

The evil rip-chord chug of “Darkened Plague” recalls an outboard motor that runs on petrol and Pabst. There’s just enough time for a fat booty boogie guitar solo before all of the oxygen has been sucked from the room.

Forging a new mythos out of melody and madness, Flashback hurls venomous lightning bolts, navigates warp-speed tempo shifts and revels in dense mercurial meltdowns. From the harshly acidic “The Atomic Fog,” to the hair-toss gong-crash of “Fortune’s Guild,” and the Satriani honeybucket “Fortune’s Guild,” this old school hard rock outfit is clearly happy to flex its ample talent before stretching out for inspection like some fuzzy-lensed centerfold.

Best Track: “Widow’s Breath”

By Christine Leonard

Noise Rock Trio BORIS Push Boundaries Of Modern Japanese Music - INTERVIEW

Guitarist/vocalist Takeshi on finding catharsis in extreme music and releasing music independently.

BY CHRISTINE LEONARD

Being a rebel in a country full of renegades is one thing, but for Japanese noise-rockers Boris, going against the tides of tradition was a much more controversial proposition. Defined from the outset by their brutal and beauteous compositions exploring the interplay between power and pop, the groundbreaking outfit has always defied convention, pushing the boundaries of modern Japanese art and music since the early 90s.

Opting to go the independent route for their latest album, NO, vocalist/guitarist/bassist Takeshi, vocalist/guitarist Wata, and vocalist/percussionist Atsuo distilled a year’s worth of thoughts and emotions into one resounding statement before entrusting the files to mix-master Koichi Hara for sharpening.

Gliding between styles with a shapeshifter’s ease, Boris tapped into the core of their collective anxieties to transmute their insecurities into sonic certainties. Assuming an activated stance in response to the current global crisis, the psych-metal trio has come together with a common goal, forming an effective outlet to rechannel any negative energy that has besieged 2020.

Pressed to answer the burning questions of fate and fortune, Takeshi and his bandmates point to the potential of extreme music to elevate the human spirit. The strength of that conviction shines through in every moment of NO, encapsulating the band’s desire to create a new means of artistic expression while offering a place of psychic solace.

Why did you decide to self-release this album? Did this make things easier or more difficult?

Takeshi: We began song-writing sessions for this album on March 24. The speed of album production was the fastest in [our] recent history, but the (coronavirus pandemic) became worse even faster. Thus, we wanted to release quickly and deliver to the listeners. Without going through a label, we were able to determine our own decisions and speed. It’s less stressful because we don’t need to wait for someone else’s decision. Distributions are stagnant worldwide, so we can’t wait for physical copies to be completed. That’s why it was completely self-produced and released only on Bandcamp.

This was our first time doing streaming-only, but results-wise, we felt it was the best way in this situation. Hopefully, in the near future, we can get CDs and vinyls pressed.

What was your attitude going into the studio to record NO?

T: We began recording NO around the time we were finishing up the LφVE & EVφL World Tour in Japan in 2019. This was around the time when we were entering the coronavirus disaster. Most live concerts and tours were getting canceled, and we felt the need to keep creating pieces of work. The world is chaotic, and cultural acts are stagnant. We resisted it by creating music and delivering it to the listeners. 

What themes and moods did you want to explore and introduce to your audience?

T: NO is an attitude that a person should have. Currently, there’s so much negative language and information that is confusing and overflowing on the TV and internet. We take in the information without questioning, we conveniently interpret it, and we’re eventually paralyzed even to unreasonable things. You eventually forget to think about how to interpret what that means.

It’s an abominable system. Everything begins by questioning yourself first. Thus, we want you to feel and understand this work.

Would you still consider Boris to be outside the box compared to your peers?

T: I’ve never advocated that Boris’ music genre is XXXX. We don’t try to stick to a limited style of music. All we’re doing is shaping the sounds and images that we find interesting in those moments. Kind of like drawing as we like. It seems the people who are in bands around us establish a band to run a band, which differs fundamentally. For Boris, it feels like we have a band to draw and to create a movie. It’s like we’re drawing a picture, and with time, those pictures become a movie. That’s how Boris’ music and work are created.

What do you think defines Boris as a Japanese band, especially when you are abroad on tour?

T: When we first began traveling internationally, we were surprised by the food and culture. Now, we’re not really conscious of ourselves being Japanese. It’s probably because we’ve gained a global sense. We have many overseas tours, so on the contrary, we feel more self-conscious that we’re Japanese when we’re back living in Japan. We feel suffocated through the realization of the strength of collectivism unique to Japan.

What is the overriding or underlying message or emotion behind NO? And how is this philosophy or feeling presented to the listener? 

T: We only create positive work. When I was in my teens, I would release unspeakable anger and frustration by listening to extreme music such as hardcore and thrash metal. The emotions I couldn’t verbalize rode the evil noise and spoke for my negative emotions. There’s anxiety, hatred, and sorrow widespread in the world now. I hope this album reflects people’s negative emotions like a mirror and reflects them in another direction with something positive.

Under this type of situation, we actually need mean, extreme music. We hope that listening to this album will help people heal and give them the strength to move forward.

How do you see yourself presenting these albums once touring becomes a possibility, again?

T: It’s tough trying to see what the future will be like because the situation is still uncertain. There may be more albums before we begin touring again. All we can do is create, so we are constantly continuing production. Many artists are live broadcasting and are taking action through trial and error. Those actions may kill the culture that has been cultivated this far. We want to think and act carefully. We’ve felt this before, but the band is a miracle. So many miracles have continued to happen. We think of this new album as a piece of miracle. We’ll keep moving forward to create new miracles and to move towards one day getting to see everyone again. Please keep supporting us. We really thank you.

After 28 years together what do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment as a band?

T: I’m appreciative of those around the world supporting a Japanese band doing whatever they want. We receive power from the audience while touring, and that becomes the motivation for producing the next piece of work. It’s thanks to this that we three have been able to do this for so long.

Translated by Kasumi Billington

Bebe Buckskin Defines Her Own Style With Leathers, Feathers & Fur

With Janice Joplin as her style icon, the Metis/Cree blues-rocker embraces her roots, allowing her natural Nêhiyaw beauty to shine through. 

BY CHRISTINE LEONARD

Growing up in the heart of Alberta’s great northern muskeg, Nêhiyaw blues-rocker Bebe Buckskin (aka Danielle Ghostkeeper) wasn’t too concerned with keeping up with the latest fashion trends. A self-described plain-Jane as a teenager, she moved to the “big city” of Calgary 10 years ago and launched her musical career in earnest. It was then that Bebe began to assemble signature ensembles of distinctive clothing accessories that were befitting of a dynamic entertainer and show-stopping diva.

“I would say it developed over time,” explains Bebe. “The more I became immersed in my music and the more I honed in and developed my style. As I came of age in my late teens I started experimenting with different aesthetics. I tried the hip-hop thing. I went through a punk phase. But then sort of settled into a hippie aesthetic in my early twenties that has been the base of my style since. I love that Summer of Love sensibility.”

Creative and intentional in her approach to both music and fashion, Bebe has always gravitated towards a more relaxed and organic lifestyle. With a soulful new EP, Asiskiy (Cree for “dirt”), arriving this month, the singer/songwriter is feeling more comfortable than ever with her on-stage image and emerging reputation as a fashionista.

“I’m into the 50s, 60s, 70s blues-rock stuff and my style definitely reflects my primary musical tastes,” she admits. “I have sort of reigned it in and now the way I dress is on purpose. I purposely look like I’m a mess, but it’s chic. I do the shabby chic thing a lot, but I’m aware and conscious of what I put on my body and every day I try to make a statement. Whether it’s a piece of jewellery or a pink feather boa like Janis Joplin—she’s a huge style icon of mine. Plus, I love fur and luxurious fabrics and textures.”

That combined love of the history and tactile symbolism is naturally connected to Bebe’s background and integrated into the warp and weft of her identity as an artist and as a Cree/Metis woman.

“The fur thing is huge for me,” says Bebe. “I love to wear animals. As weird as that sounds. I love to wear leather, feathers, fur. You’re honouring that life. You’re honouring that spirit. It’s a huge part of our culture and that definitely plays a role in why I like to wear it so much. To honour tradition and pay homage to where I come from and where I grew up, my heritage and my culture.”

Aware that boldly championing such a hot-button issue is bound to garner a wide range of reactions, Bebe continues to make bold fashion choices that affirm her own experiences and reflect her ancestral origins.

“Lately I’ve been wearing pelts. My coyote pelts and my fox pelts. Just draped over my shoulder as a statement. I did that in New Orleans when I played Folk Alliance Festival. I got a lot of mixed reviews on that. I got called out. I got called—oh my God—I got called a murderer and I thought they were going to throw red paint on me. So, it’s like you are always taking a risk with the fur thing,” she says.  “C’mon. Like, fuck you, man. My grandpa’s a trapper. I’m Indigenous from Northern Alberta. Fuck you!”

Affirming that truth, beauty, and fashion lie in the eye of the beholder, trailblazing blues-folk chanteuse Bebe isn’t about to put her personal sense of style in a corner.

“I don’t really have a specific structure of what beauty should be in my mind. A person who embraces who they are and what they dig—that’s beautiful to me. Diversity is beautiful. Confidence is beautiful. Your demeanour and how you hold yourself. A confident person shines and that is beautiful.”

Bebe Buckskin’s new EP, Asiskiy, is available to stream now.

LA Priest "Gene" - Album Review

LA Priest
GENE

Writer/producer Sam Eastgate (aka Samuel Dust) cuts loose for his sophomore appearance as the ubiquitous bon vivant, LA Priest.

A sparkling follow-up to his 2015 rural isolation project, Inji, this is Eastgate’s first solo release since the dissolution of his UK dance-punk outfit Late Of The Pier. GENE probes pop-electronic territories with the same expansive curiosity that fuelled his Soft Hair (2016) collaboration with Kiwi psych-funk “Jassbuster,” Connan Mockasin.

“Beginning” coaxes the listener out from under the couch and into the realm of the absurd. Preaching the gospel of groove on the scintillating “Rubber Sky” and day-tripping through “Open My Eyes,” Eastgate sets off on a lazy backstroke through a shimmering catalogue of loungey sprawlers.

An expert improviser who grew up surrounded by his New Wave musician father’s junkheap of busted amps and wonky keyboards, Eastgate drops the pressure on exquisitely crafted tracks like the quirky confessional “What Moves,” the soul strumming “Sudden Thing,” and the atmospheric “Monochrome.” Further along, the wispy Prince-paramour “Kissing of the Weeds” segues into the crystalline lab-work of “Black Smoke,” methodically culminating in the post-coital hush of “Ain’t No Love Affair.”

A playful and self-liberating selection of sonic place settings, GENE’s super-structure is designed to dissolve even as it leads you up the double-helix staircase. Hustle without the flex, it’s a beautiful thing.

Best Track: “Rubber Sky”

By Christine Leonard

Spectres Look Back in Black With Dark Wave Reverie

Influenced by groups like The Smiths and Echo & The Bunnymen, the goth-punk quintet are consciously taking a step towards the dance floor.

BY CHRISTINE LEONARD

Arrayed with a gloomy presence and an eerie sound, Vancouver post-punk band Spectres have been haunting fans with their brilliant yet reserved brand of goth-rock severity since 2005.

Surpassing those initial stirrings, the West Coast quintet has grown from an ambitious anarcho-punk DIY entity that pushed its way onto a sceptical scene to become the vanguard of Canada’s contemporary new wave upsurge.

“We’re not trying to hide the fact that we’re making music that sounds a certain way or draws a certain era to mind. We wear it on our sleeves,” guitarist Zach Batalden tells BeatRoute. “We’re conscious of our influences and that a lot of the music is about looking back and having certain feelings about your own past at different times than where we are today.”

Beyond a backwards glance at the crushingly elegant phrasing and melodies that epitomize a time and place, Spectres latest offering, Nostalgia (Artoffact Records), immortalizes the spirit of ennui and psychic discomfort that inhabits the lyrical realms established by groups such as The Smiths, Echo & the Bunnymen and The Psychedelic Furs.

“The bands that inspired us in the first place and still inspire us today. Maybe not John Hughes, but certainly the late 70s and early to mid-80s Manchester sound is pretty strong in what we’re doing with Nostalgia for sure.”

Recorded at Jacknife Sound with producer Jason Corbett (ACTORS), Nostalgia relies heavily on the dark emotional interplay between Batalden, lead singer Brian Gustavson and drummer Mitch Allen, while integrating the talents of more recent arrivals, bassist Jason Renix and guitarist Adam Mitchell. Dauntless, yet utterly prone to pursuing synth-pop romances down mysterious causeways, Nostalgia is perhaps Spectres most dance floor destined work to date.

“That’s totally a part of the goal is that people will be able to dance,” says Batalden. “Hopefully they’ll feel like moving around when they hear the music.” 

Spectres’ Nostalgia is available now via Artoffact Records.

Car Seat Headrest "Making a Door Less Open" - Album Review

Car Seat Headrest
"Making a Door Less Open"

Breaking their four-year fast with a fresh set of songs and a newly rinsed outlook on life, Car Seat Headrest conceived their latest album as a conversation between producer/drummer Andrew Katz and lead singer/guitarist Will Toledo’s split-personas. Together the two form 1 Trait Danger, a synth-based auxiliary that actively forces CSH’s restless pop-rock anthems through a futuristic electronic filter.

Keen to collaborate with himself, Toledo wanted every song to reflect his personal listening habits, which runs on singles as opposed to albums. This ‘in the moment’ perspective is strongly reflected in the disparate natures of his anti-social sonic hybrids.

CSH’s technical transformation reveals itself subtly as the dronetastic introduction, “Weightlifters,” pushes through a pool party of rippling angst and drum machine heart murmurs. Dipping below the surface, the suburban drift of “Can’t Cool Me Down” is quickly eclipsed by the full-sun sizzle of “Hollywood,” with its brassy highlights and top-down morality.

Soft-pedaled by a sensory-deprived middle section, diary burner “Deadlines” and Kodachrome snapshot “Life’s Worth Missing” pick up the pieces and the pace just in time for the closing cerebral scramble, “Famous.” Constantly switching up their climate control, Toledo believes he has struck upon a winning nu-folk formula. A malleable and reinterpretable genre with no maximum mileage or occupancy.

Best Track: “Hollywood”

By Christine Leonard

Nêhiyaw Blues-Rocker Bebe Buckskin on her Favourite Sources for Indigenous Fashion

With her new EP, Asiskiy (Cree for “dirt”), out now,
Metis blues-rocker Bebe Buckskin has fully embraced her reputation
as a show-stopping fashionista. 

Buckskin sat down with us to share some of her favourite sources of inspirational Indigenous fashion; including up-and-coming and established designers, artisans, and jewelry makers. 

By Christine Leonard

Indi City

Fashion is an expression and Indi City wants to be part of how you express yourself. Offering an array of contemporary Indigenous designs made 100 percent by Indigenous hands. 

“We take pride in our ancestral connection to this land. Everything we create is intended to be a mindful acknowledgment to the bloodlines we come from, and the Grandmothers and Grandfathers that made it possible for us to be here to share Indigenous fashion with you.”

“My Blood Memory is Couture. I am the eldest daughter of the eldest daughter of the eldest daughter.” (INSTAGRAM)

Rezin Babe

Danni Suitaakii is a Calgary-based local Indigiqueer/2S artist & filmmaker. “All her pieces made with love and resistance. Handmade and imperfect,” says Buckskin. (INSTAGRAM)

Moonstone Creation

Calgary’s Moonstone Creation Native Gallery and gift shop is an internationally known gallery for authentic Native art. Owner, traditional artist, designer, and spiritualist, Yvonne Jobin, is Cree First Nations originally from High Prairie, Alberta.

Yvonne’s considerable knowledge of Indigenous culture and spirituality is reflected in her artwork. Whether her work is for traditional use, collectors, museums, or major motion pictures, all of her art reflects a respect for the gift of nature, the land and humankind’s need to live in balance with creation. Yvonne is much in-demand as a seminar leader and is dedicated to preserving and teaching her culture through the arts and with the use of authentic materials of her ancestors. (INSTAGRAM)

Sage Paul 

Sage Paul is an urban Denesuliné tskwe based in Toronto and a member of English River First Nation. She is an award-winning artist and designer and a recognized leader of Indigenous fashion, craft, and textiles. Her work centres family, sovereignty, and resistance for balance. Sage is also Founding Collective Member and Artistic Director of Indigenous Fashion Week Toronto. (INSTAGRAM)

Native Diva Creations

Handmade beaded jewelry and accessories for both men and women. Native Diva Creations makes wearable art with techniques, patterns, and designs in an updated and contemporary way that is wearable for all peoples.

Based in Calgary, Melrene Savoy-Eaglespeaker is a member of Alberta’s Blood Tribe. Melrene was inspired to work for herself after participating in the entrepreneur symposium in Morley, a First Nations settlement within the Stoney Nakoda Nation. Products she makes in her thriving home-based business include Indigenous earrings, necklaces, body jewelry, hats, and jackets. (INSTAGRAM)

Heather Crowshoe Couture 

Heather Crowshoe designs Blackfoot Pikanii Nation Couture. She began professionally designing and creating dresses and overcoats for the Calgary Stampede Indian Princess. Since childhood, she has been immersed in traditional Northern Piikani clothing and textile knowledge of her parents, aunts, and grandmothers. This experience ignited her passion to become a Couturier. Heather and her daughter Karli’s couture, streetwear, and modern regalia designs were inspired by their upbringing. Both were raised by Piikanisinni, the Piikani way of Life. (INSTAGRAM)

Danzig "Sings Elvis" - Album Review

Danzig
Sings Elvis

Elvis died in 1977. That very same year a 22-year-old Glenn Anzalone started a remarkable journey that would see the aspiring singer-songwriter from Lodi, New Jersey morph into one of the most beloved and recognizable characters in American music.

Glenn Danzig has left his mark as the penultimate gothic rock musician and record producer. His eponymous band, Danzig, has become an internationally recognized symbol of hyper-masculinity and old-school bravado, while his horror punk exploits with outfits Samhain and Misfits have secured his spot in rock and roll infamy.

Well into his sixties, it’s only fitting that the golden-throated crooner should pay homage to one of his greatest influencers from the 50s and 60s by crafting an ‘easily listenable’ tribute album.

A more than capable vocalist, long renowned for his deep throaty tones and powerful “Evil Elvis” bellows, Danzig’s baritone treatments alternate between smooth and chunky when emulating the king of fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches.

Embracing his cardigans-and-cats side, Danzig lavishes his tenor tones upon popular and forgotten classics including “Lonely Blue Boy,” “Pocket Full of Rainbows,” and a tiki lounge-worthy “Fever.”

Vacillating between Quaalude piano-sprawlers like “You Are Always on My Mind” and “Loving Arms” and the amphetamine-fuelled rockabilly hoppers “Baby Lets Play House” and “When It Rains It Really Pours,” it’s easy to see how the life of an entertainer can take its toll.

Toss back a shot and get on that redeye, Bubba. You’ve got a show to do.

Best Track: “One Night”

By Christine Leonard

Black Dahlia Murder "Verminous" - Album Review

Black Dahlia Murder
Verminous

A thrilling leap forward from 2017’s Nightbringers, the ninth album from Michigan’s The Black Dahlia Murder is arguably the melodic death metal band’s greatest accomplishment since forming almost two decades ago.

Chiefly recorded in the home studio of guitarist/vocalist Brandon Ellis, who joined up in 2016, Verminous benefits enormously from BDM’s claws-on approach.

The dripping caverns of the gatekeeping title track unleashes an army of orcs that surge forth from their subterranean lair like a scene ripped from Ralph Bakshi’s animated Lord Of The Rings feature. Galloping guitars keep pace as the infestation races along a path studded with crucified skeletons. Suddenly one of the corpses breaks into song. It’s lead vocalist Trevor Strnad! And, he is relentless.

The nigh celebratory mission continues as the face-flaying “Godlessly” tears open a circle pit hell-mouth that is as dramatic as it is gratifying. Military precision, gridline grinds and glorious double-kick machinations? They’ve got all that, but with painterly aspirations.

Medieval tapestry weavers whose hands fly with a modern momentum on cuts like “Removal of the Oaken Stake,” “The Leather Apron’s Scorn” and “The Wereworm’s Feast,” BDM isn’t afraid to throw itself headlong through a stained-glass window. Forgive them, Father.

Best track: “The Wereworm’s Feast”

By Christine Leonard

Marlaena Moore Confronts Her Imposter Syndrome Head-On

The Edmonton songwriter cautions to be present and pay attention to what’s going on around you.

BY CHRISTINE LEONARD

Imposter syndrome isn’t just a buzzword for being uncomfortable in a particular job or role, or even your own skin. Edmonton-based singer-songwriter Marlaena Moore has recently contended with that slippery intellectual slope and talks about her struggles embracing personal confidence despite having numerous accolades and two solid LPs, Beginner (2014) and Gaze (2016), to her credit.

“The past year has been marvelous. Everything got completely flipped upside-down in my life for the best possible outcome. After Gaze was released, and after I toured that record, I fell into a little bit of a slump creatively and life-wise, as well. I felt a little stuck,” says Moore. ”Eventually, I realized I was having some mental health issues. After getting diagnosed with BPD, dealing with it and confronting myself a little bit, I realized I needed to start writing again.”

Setting aside time in the early morning hours to practice her craft, Moore connected with her creative spirit and rekindled her passion for weaving poetic pop-rock tales that leave an indelible impression on all who encounter them. It wasn’t long before the potent emotions she had been fermenting were ready to distill for public consumption and Moore approached trusted collaborators, grant-writer/manager Jesse Northey and musician/engineer Chris Dadge, for guidance in making her vision a reality.

I said, ‘This might sound kinda wild, but I’d really like Chad VanGaalen to produce the record.’ It took a little bit of convincing but we managed to get him into the studio and he was very generous with his space and his time. He was really involved as a producer, so I felt really lucky to get to borrow his brain for my songs!”

As Moore puts it, the resulting album, Pay Attention, Be Amazed, “flourished,” displaying her ever-evolving style as a guitar-wielding romance novelist and autobiographical graffiti artist rolled into one. It’s hard to imagine there’s any deception or shortcomings to be had among the immaculate melodies, swooning vocals and deeply cut love letters she inhabits in the nine painterly tracks that stretch from “I Miss You” to “Tiger Water.”

“If you listen to the whole record you’ll hear the voice of someone who feels they’re really lacking in a relationship like they are the ones not pulling their weight. The song ‘Imposter’ is about feeling as if people don’t really know the true you is the dark version and that’s the only version that is real. That song is an imposter itself: it has jangly guitar, an upbeat tempo, and a bright L.A. pop-groove sound, but it’s about a relationship completely falling apart,” Moore says.

“The thing that kept coming up with Pay Attention, Be Amazed is that something could be coming and it might not look like you expect it to. Be present and pay attention to what’s going on around you. In those moments, you can feel this clear, lucid high where you see everything for what it is. It’s beautiful and interesting and you can start pulling things apart and looking underneath. Look close enough to see the signs. Maybe everything is not as it seems when you’re going through darker times.”

Marlaena Moore’s Pay Attention, Be Amazed is available now. 

Moaning "Uneasy Laughter" - Album Review

Moaning
Uneasy Laughter

Dim the lights, crank the synths, shelve your inhibitions and prepare to fall in love with Moaning, and then lose them. It’s a classic pop song plot, but this story has legs.

Warmed by a collective chorus, the chilly opening cut “Ego” delivers thicc beats laced with disaffected vocals and intuitive nonchalance. Out-of-pocket and off-the-cuff, Morrissey-esque vocals preach against The Creator while pitting artistic narcissism against emotional empathy. 

Confronting the mod stranger in the mirror, Moaning veers into bluish baritone hues before parting the curtains of silence with a nervous gasp on “The Stranger.” Overwrought by the restless amphetamine momentum of “Running,” reflexive tempos and tentative truths lead the L.A.-based trio to draw their own conclusions on the future-drone drama “Connect the Dots” and twitchy “Coincidence or Fate.” 

Pretense blows away like clouds chased across the mountaintops on “Fall In Love” as the lush reverb of “What Separates Us” and silky smooth complexion of “Saving Face” wipe clean any remaining points of contact.

Channeling the Parlophone purity of The Pet Shop Boys, Moaning makes their own sound bed using immaculate high-thread-count linens and the downiest of fillers. The art of psychic repose never sounded more chic.

Best Track: “Ego”

By Christine Leonard

Iron Tusk "Iron Tusk III: Dreameaters" - Album Review

Iron Tusk
Iron Tusk III: Dreameaters

A double-barreled blast of unfettered prairie punk, the latest from these Siksika shredders touches down with the force of a trailer park tornado. Tearing a hole in the ozone, primary cut “Cloudeater” emerges from a dense fog of menacing reverberations with ill intent.

A spooky psychedelic tale that buzzes with old-school distortion, this devourer of smoke brandishes a blazing torch for the ghostly figure that haunted the band’s second LP, Dark Spirit. No lightweight contenders, they would give Alberta’s notorious grizzly #122 pause, landing blow after vision-blurring blow with ease.

Turning the other cheek with “Dreaming City,” the black leather-clad crew hits the b-side by running amok in an urban wilderness of their own making. Considered one of Alberta’s worst-kept secrets, the foursome proves to be surprisingly agile as they absorb and reflect heavily horrible influences like Motörhead and Forbidden Dimension. The second track’s fiery vocals scorch the Earth in anticipation of a magnetic storm full of percussive thunder.

Solidified by the grounding presence of recently conscripted guitar vet Craig Bear Chief, Iron Tusk is equipped to reach further and higher in leaving their claw mark on the Canadian music scene. Howling at the moon is only a mic check.

Best Track: “Dreaming City”

By Christine Leonard

Neck of the Woods "The Annex of Fire" - Album Review

Neck of the Woods
The Annex of Ire
Pelagic Records

The newest dispatch from thorny Vancouver metal arbour Neck of the Woods finds its rhythm method in midst of madness.

Six years into their licks, the progressive outfit’s impressive arch of ascent from a two-song demo in 2013, to the unveiling of their eponymous EP in 2015, to producing the sawblade hum of their 2017 debut LP, The Passenger, is incontestable.

Chromatic technical prowess gleams on “Ambivalence,” while the myopic soul-seeking of “Vision Loser'' levels the landscape like an atomic blast. Jeff Radomsky’s voice rises above the fray of “Strange Consolation” before he finds solace in the guitar wire spires that pierce the celestial vault on “The Tower.”

Built on a slicker-than-wet-asphalt foundation, thanks to the ministrations of Rain City Recorder producer/engineer Jesse Gander, the entire album hangs together with palpable cohesion and clarity of purpose.

From the door-kick introduction provided by the title track it’s apparent that Neck of the Woods aren’t giving up any ground when it comes to the gritty gains they’ve made.

Executing an exhaustive survey of how to stage a multi-genre metal war without sacrificing substance, Neck of the Woods finds room to roam within the untidy confines of The Annex of Ire.

Best Track: “The Tower”

By Christine Leonard

Sepultura "Quadra" - Album Review

Sepultura
Quadra

How do you supersede a 30-year career that has irrevocably altered the tides of global metal while spawning 15 albums that put Brazil on the heavy music map? You simply do what Sepultura has always done — unleash the power of monumental thrash amplified by orchestral drama and the tribal tempos of the Amazon.

More than a “Means to an End,” the hyperbolic Quadra (from the Portuguese word for ‘sport court’) reverberates with vision-inducing venom, thanks to an enthusiastic delivery by the iconic band’s current roster.

A demon-throated throwback, Quadra finds new glory in the old school appeal of formative releases like Beneath the Remains (1989) and Arise (1991). Ripped from the mean streets of Belo Horizonte, the bellicose war drums of “Capital Enslavement” and dizzying favela architecture of “Last Time” keep the BPM burning high.

Further afield, the aggressive stance of “Ali,” stuttering malice of “Raging Void” and slashing ambition of “The Pentagram” confirm that vocalist Derrick Green and guitarist Andreas Kisser remain at the top of their virtuosic game.

Dissatisfied with watching history repeat itself, these magical death machine messiahs feel bound to keep blasting out “thrash metal anthems for a fucked-up age” and we’re lucky they succeed in doing so, season after season.

Best Track: “Ali”

By Christine Leonard

Nada Surf "Never Not Together" - Album Review

Nada Surf
Never Not Together

Rise and shine, 90s bred New York outfit Nada Surf’s newest album comes equipped with an indie-rock foam cycle that’ll wash your brain clean of any lingering debris. 

From the tangerine-hued opener “So Much Love” to the strummy escape of “Come Get Me” (a la Nirvana’s “Grandma Take Me Home”), guitarist/vocalist Matthew Caw bumps up the thermostat one motivational outburst at a time. 

A harmonic turnaround from the cold clarity of their previous release, You Know Who You Are (2016), Never Not Together gets up close and personal on the inward-looking “Live Learn & Forget” and the emotionally generous “Just Wait.” 

The struggle to let memories fade comes to a head on the cerebral “Something I Should Do” with its apostrophic observational advice. Hard-won lessons, such as “put your anger away,” “don’t need to be right, it’s overrated anyhow” and “don’t fear death” dominate the typically easy-breezy surf band’s lyrical lines. 

Buoyant rollers divulge the wisdom that has brought them to the brink and then allowed them to pull back from the edge. Collectively thumbing their zinc-smeared noses at the dark, Nada Surf point their boards towards the sun and paddle out to embrace the “Holy Math” of destiny. 

Best track: "Live Learn & Forget"

By Christine Leonard