Some of the Bestest Alberta Releases of 2019

Gone Cosmic
Sideways in Time
Kozmik Artifactz 

A supernova of a musical experiment, Gone Cosmic warps time and space around mindblowing guitar riffs, tetragonal rhythms and the air-raid warning vocals of an onyx-tressed siren, Abbie Thurgood.

A basement-jam brainchild conceptualized by stringslingers Devin “Darty” Purdy and Brett Whittingham (of Calgary’s stoner rock mainstay, Chron Goblin), this intrepid crew blasts through alien landscapes navigating dire turns, deep pockets and soaring incantations that put the legions of Mars on high alert.

Interstellar jazz meets terrestrial grit as Gone Cosmic takes their audience on an acid-fuelled rocket ride around the sun before splashing down in a sea of psych-rock tranquility.

• Christine Leonard 

Sunglaciers
Foreign Bodies
Independent 

A sweat-slicked fever dream of an album, Sunglaciers’ first full-length release reverberates with an electric intellect that shimmers like a sunset reflecting off a skyscraper.

Afloat in an emotionally clouded atmosphere, Sunglaciers melt away artifice and presumption with an earnest appeal for the freedom and room to spread their wings.

Echoing the smooth transitions and pensive introspection of indie wavers The Psychedelic Furs and The Jesus and Mary Chain, singer-guitarist Evan Resnik feels his way through a forest of fuzzy memories while Mathieu Blanchard (drums), Kyle Crough (bass) and Helen Young (synths) seal the melodic mood rock envelope with a probing kiss and a subconscious prayer.

• Christine Leonard 

 nipiy
Arts & Crafts 

Drawing on their Indigenous roots, this amiskwaciy (Edmonton, Treaty 6) phenom takes their attention-grabbing name from their Plains Cree heritage.

The cooly contemporary, culturally significant, band’s debut on the Arts & Crafts label finds vocalist/guitarist/storyweaver Kris Harper, (cedar log) drummer Marek Tyler and synth player/bassist Matthew Cardinal carving out a perch for “those who don’t seem to fit in for myriads of reasons,” while creating a modern, atmospheric album that speaks to all quarters.

Sticking out their necks and letting down their hair, the neo-trad trio traces a path that runs to the heart of Canada’s musical past, present and future.

• Christine Leonard

HELLYEAH Wreck the Halls in Tribute to Heavy Metal Legend Vinnie Paul - INTERVIEW FEATURE

Auld Lang Syne of the Times

HELLYEAH Wreck the Halls in Tribute to Heavy Metal Legend Vinnie Paul 

As 2020 rolls around, we pause to mark the end of a decade and celebrate the arrival of a new one. Lest an old acquaintance "be forgot" in the melee of merry-making, hard rock icons Hellyeah will be hosting a series of seasonally apropos events with a dual purpose.

Not only is the supergroup sharing material from their latest album, Welcome Home, which was released this past September, but they are commemorating the passing of metal god Vinnie Paul, who died of natural causes including heart disease in June of 2018. 

“It’s been cathartic it’s definitely helped us get through everything but it’s also difficult cuz there’s a lot of emotions,” explains guitarist Christian Brady, who was one of the last people to see Vinnie alive, and is still processing the shock of his friend’s sudden death.

As founding members of Pantera, Texas’ claim to thrash metal fame, Vinnie and his brother “Dimebag” Darrell achieved the status of living legends. Dimebag’s notoriety for partying harder than any other player on the scene left a gaping hole that Vinnie dutifully filled following the tragedy of Dimebag’s on-stage assassination in December of 2004.

Similarly charged with the daunting task of carrying on after the loss of a band member and mentor they had in Vinnie, Brady and the remaining members of Hellyeah — vocalist Chad Gray, guitarist Tom Maxwell and bassist Kyle Sanders — agreed they had to complete Vinnie’s final masterpiece and share it with his followers around the globe.

“THE SUPPORT IS MASSIVE AND RIGHT NOW WE’RE FOCUSED ON ‘THE CELEBRATION’ AND HONOURING OUR BROTHER.”

 “I know for a fact, if Vinnie’s drum parts hadn’t already been finished it would have been a very different story for the future of Hellyeah, but because those tracks were done we felt an obligation to finish the record. It’s his last piece of work, you know. It’s the last piece of his legacy and he put so much effort and care into what he did on the record to that point and the fans deserved to hear it.”

Ready to wreck the halls, with the support of incoming drummer and longtime friend Roy Mayorga (Stone Sour), Hellyeah will be crisscrossing Canada and the U.S. on their “A Celebration of Life Celebrating Vinnie Paul” tour. According to Brady seeing Welcome Home’s musical theatrics performed live is the perfect pitchfork to pry your brain out of its mid-winter slumber. So, get off the couch, put on a black T-shirt and ‘respect walk’ yourself down to the nearest Hellyeah show to tip a few in honour of mosh pits past. 

“As far as the future of Hellyeah, we’re just taking it day by day. The support is massive and right now we’re focused on ‘The Celebration’ and honouring our brother. It’s so super important that we do that the right way and make sure it’s all about him. We want it to be done tastefully, we want it to be respectful and we want everybody to get a chance to show their love for Vinnie. He was a larger-than-life character and he loved to have a good time. He carried that flag after he lost his brother; he wanted everyone to have a great time. He valued all the fans so much and we knew we had to come out and celebrate, cuz that’s what he would want. So, that’s our mission. That’s all we're trying to do – make our brother proud.”

By Christine Leonard

Hellyeah perform Thursday, Dec. 5 at the Palace Theatre (Calgary, AB), Friday, Dec. 6 at Union Hall (Edmonton, AB) and Sunday, Dec. 8 at The Imperial (Vancouver, BC) // TIX

Dennis and Lois: The Untold Story of Rock and Roll’s Legendary Superfans - Film Review

Chris Cassidy’s award-winning documentary about a couple who have been going to shows for more than 40 years gives the term “all ages” new meaning.

BY CHRISTINE LEONARD

Lifelong music lovers Dennis Anderson and Lois Kahlert are perhaps the most widely recognized pair of superfans in the world. With a history of attending concerts that spans more than 40 years, the eccentric but unpretentious couple from New York City has endeared themselves to bands from around the globe, and have become more famous than some of their celebrity acquaintances in the process.

Spotlighted by director Chris Cassidy, Dennis and Lois are now the subjects of their own eponymous biographical documentary, which examines how and why they developed and fed their voracious appetite for live music performances. The film is studded with dynamic concert footage and candid interviews with dozens of performers who have come to know and love Dennis and Lois over the years. Members of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Mekons, New Order, Doves, The Smiths, Budgie, The Fall, Elbow, The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays (who immortalized them in a song), and more, all queue up to pay tribute.

Regular pilgrims to the streets of Manchester, England, the unmarried but deeply bonded couple have accumulated a mountain of tour t-shirts and ticket stubs. This conspicuous consumption is echoed in their jammed-to-the-rafters personal residence. A shrine to pop culture, each room in the home is dedicated to a different franchise. Entire bedrooms have been claimed by Spiderman, Batman, The Simpsons – earning Dennis and Lois the nickname “The Toy People.” The basement, of course, is reserved for vinyl.

The Ramones get an entire hallway, featuring one of Dee Dee’s leather jackets and a pair of Joey’s shredded jeans. In fact, The Ramones were one of the first groups to bring Dennis and Lois into their extended family. As original patrons of CBGB’s, the enthusiastic youngsters volunteered to help work the band’s merchandise table and quickly became indispensable assistants. Whether they were scoring good weed for recording artists or giving a traveling troupe a place to crash, Dennis and Lois always found a way to connect with people in a manner that made them feel seen yet utterly at ease.

There’s a powerful lesson to be gleaned from how remarkably forward-thinking and open-minded these two septuagenarians are in their approach to absorbing new sources of inspiration and obsession. Despite the limitations imposed on their three-gig-a-day habit by increasing physical frailty, Dennis and Lois persist in their determination to expose themselves to live music. This is evident in their ongoing support of up-and-coming artists like John Grant and The Vaccines.

As audience members, punk-rock roadies and Godparents to the scene, they’re not content to simply reminisce about the good old times of yore when legends roamed the Earth. Recently stage-side as A Place to Bury Strangers stirred the room into a calamitous frenzy, an MS-afflicted Lois (the unjaded veteran of 10,000 concerts) raised her hands in ecstatic reverie.

“Smoke started coming up. Everybody was doing this mosh pit, slam dancing, and body surfing. All this stuff going on and I’m there sitting in the chair… They’re passing the guitars over. They’re passing guys over. And, it was like the most incredible show I ever saw,” she says.

Dennis and Lois is available to stream now via AMAZON or iTunes

Cannabis Corpse "Nug So Vile" - Album Review

Cannabis Corpse
Nug So Vile

Devised back in 2006 by Phil “Landphil” Hall (Municipal Waste, Iron Reagan) and Josh “Hallhammer” Hall, Cannabis Corpse is a virulent strain of “marijuana death metal” that pays homage to the heavy hitters the brothers grew up listening to.

Recently reduced to a svelte trio, the Virginia-based weedcentric band drew deeply on a green sense of humour and horror metal roots to generate their latest ripper, Nug So Vile.
Ripe with that familiar icky sticky Garbage Pail Kids stench, tracks like “Cylinders of Madness” and “Nug So Vile” ooze with layers of bludgeoning percussion and wailing guitar sirens.

The alluring “Blasphemy Made Hash” leans into storytelling sorcery, while dire prospects “Conquerors of Chonageddon” and “Cheeba Jigsore Quandry” thrash about like a man on fire. A pummelling rocket ride through Adrenaline Canyon, “Edibles Autopsy” will have you examining yourself for absent extremities.
Dignity is restored with the demonic war march “Dawn of Weed Possession,” propelled in menacing surges by junkyard dog barks and a tempestuous cadence.

The final drag, “The Ultimate Indicantation” stirs the pot one last time — sending up cinders, spiraling riffs and growling vocals that wreak devastation upon an already smouldering landscape.

Best Track: Blunt Force Domain

By Christine Leonard

Album Review: Little Lamb – Elephant Shoe Two

Little Lamb
Elephant Shoe Two
Independent

Blaze up in the saddle for a ride through a bygone era as singer/songwriter/guitarist Tad Hynes traces the bloodlines of American folk-rock and psychedelic pop through the hazy hills of yore.

As he explains, “Around the time I released the first Little Lamb album I had fallen head over heels for Buffalo Springfield, which lead my attention to bands like Poco, The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers and many more. This late 60s surf/country/western/psych/rock sound had a great influence on the way I wanted the new album to sound.” 

The sauntering Morricone-tinged opener “Sun Dance Kid” lays the scene with a sultry Stratocaster strut. All the good vibes continue to shine down on “Mr. Squito” and “Thirteen Lined Ground Squirrel” with their weightless falsetto vocals and rippling strings. 

Fleshed out by the presence of singer/guitarist Sunny Dhak (Pride Tiger, Three Inches of Blood), who appears on the title track and a couple more, Elephant Shoe Two bounds through a Woodstockian meadow of honeyed harmonies and subversive lyrics. Bravely capricious explorations such as the rocky “Tiger Lily” and “Cool Autumn Breeze” find their counterpoint in melodies as delicate as spider webs on “Carnation” and “Needles of Green.” 

Reposed yet acutely observant of its environment, Little Lamb’s bespoke second release recalls the efforts of genre-kaleidoscoping bands like The 13th Floor Elevators and Ween while remaining entirely laced up in thread-puller Hynes’ daisy chain of thought.

Best Track: Needles of Green

Friday 18th, October 2019 

By Christine Leonard

https://littlelamb1.bandcamp.com/album/elephant-shoe-two

Black Mastiff - Interview with Clay and Bob

Black Mastiff Seize Control
with Loser Delusions

by Christine Leonard

“All of the songs in my head are Black Mastiff!”

It’s a common condition among those who have been exposed to the Edmonton rock band’s wide-bottomed grooves and soulful vocals. Renowned for their thick curves and intuitive rhythms, the heavy blues-metal trio has eclipsed their local scene and grown in stature and repute on a diet of beefy riffs and Alberta rye.

Far from the desert canyons and rocky peaks pursued by their headbanging brethren, Black Mastiff is most at home prowling the urban landscape and exploring Edmonton’s dark underbelly. It’s where they found the inspiration for their latest album, Loser Delusions; its name a cheeky tip of the bandana to Axl Rose, reflecting Black Mastiff’s state of mind.

“It was first thrown out as a bit of a joke,” explains bassist Clay Shea. “We had a giggle and then we thought about it for a bit and it just kind of made sense to us, with the way the writing process had been going and our dedication to the process of getting together. Our drummer, Allan (Harding), had been living in Vancouver and we were just trying to stay motivated and were a bit delusional about the future.”

It was a trial and a test for the sludgy outfit, who’s self-titled debut appeared in 2011. Working on Loser Delusions, Shea and guitarist/vocalist Bob Yiannakoulias knew they had reached a crucial stage in the band’s development, a high watermark that would see the fuzzy entity sink or swim for its melodic life.

“We’re always going for it, but we had to work hard to make this one happen,” says Yiannakoulias of working long-distance. “It took a lot of motivation because that cathartic thing you get from going to practice, turning up the amps, cranking up, blowing through your songs and having those rewarding jams wasn’t there. Sometimes it was less fun, but we had to stay really focused, and keep our shit together, and put in that time. Everybody had to pretty much step up the level of dedication.”

And step up they did, creating their own record label Grand Hand, in cahoots with tourmates Chron Goblin, along the way. It was a decision that put them in charge of their destiny and once Black Mastiff had the leash in their jaws there was no restraining their artistic impulses.

“We never really lost control,” says Shea, “but I feel like this was all just about regaining control and knowing we can keep doing this. We’ve got the chops to keep doing what we’re doing.”

Black Mastiff perform Fri, Oct. 11 at The Palomino Smokehouse (Calgary), Fri, Oct. 18 at Hard Luck (Toronto) and Fri, Oct. 25 at Temple (Edmonton).

Tuesday 08th, October 2019 / 07:00 

in • Alberta, • Rockpile

BreakOut West Fest Heads Up North

BreakOut West Fest Takes Off To
The Great White North
For Annual Music Summit

By Christine Leonard

The call of the Great White North will be heard loud and clear as Western Canada’s annual music celebration, BreakOut West Fest, turns its eyes and ears to the wild frontier of Whitehorse, Yukon.

“It’s a showcase festival,” says BoW’s interim executive director Nat Kleinschmit. “We bring in 60 artists to play 120 shows over three days. And then we bring in delegates from all over Canada and even all over the world, to come and listen to those artists playing in front of an audience in a natural environment. It’s a real celebration of Canadian music.”

A movable feast of music, art, awards and information, BreakOut West takes place in a new location every year. According to Kleinschmit, the decision to hold the 2019 gathering in the Yukon will bring fresh and exciting energy to this year’s programming.

Acts including Astral Swans, Miesha & The Spanks, Crystal Eyes, HellnBack, The Won’ts, Ponteix, Rare Americans, The Sweeties and many more will filter through stages with fitting monikers like Dirty Northern, Miners Daughter, The Old Fire Hall and Gold Pan Saloon. As if that wasn’t enough, BoW will also play host to the Western Canadian Music Awards. This year’s Artists Awards Reception will pay special tribute to singer-songwriter Susan Aglukark who will be inducted into the WCMA Hall of Fame.

“Sometimes we forget that there is strong activity in our Northern Territories—whether it’s the Northwest Territories, Nunavut or the Yukon Territory,” Kleinschmit says. “Holding this year’s event in Whitehorse is an exciting choice. It demonstrates that there’s a lot going on away from our big cities. There’s a ‘Northern Rush!’ We’re going to have a record number of artists from the Northern Territories. Some of the artists bring a particular viewpoint of the world and what it means to be Canadian. They have very different approaches in their songwriting and songs.”

In a land where musicians sometimes drive for hours just to jam, BreakOut West Fest will be an event to remember, for both artists and attendees alike.

BreakOut West Fest takes place from October 2 to 6, 2019 in Whitehorse, Yukon. For more information visit https://breakoutwest.ca

Tuesday 01st, October 2019