SAN CISCO SEIZES ON ITS STRENGTHS >>>

Four-piece San Cisco has a 2

serious drawing power in its native Australia. Masters of social media—455,000 Soundcloud followers don’t lie—the youthful indiepop darlings have jangled their way to three Top 20 albums and a touring schedule that’s taken them all over the world. Ask guitarist Josh Biondillo about their seemingly swift rise to prominence, however, and he’ll point out that the group has been plugging away for nearly a decade.

“We started when we were in high school,” he recalls, speaking to the Straight from Fremantle, Australia. “We’ve been pretty much working at it that entire time.”

The results of that labour are apparent in the group’s latest record, The Water. First rising to prominence with DIY earworm “Awkward” in 2012—a track that saw fresh-faced frontman Jordi Davieson trade lines about a failed date with drummer Scarlett Stevens—the band has made sure that its growth has gone beyond its increasingly profound lyrics. San Cisco’s two-chord riffs have given way to everything from the funky bass lines and off-beat guitar stabs of “Kids Are Cool” to the wonky Wurlitzer-style synths in “Waiting for the Weekend”, all without compromising the catchy choruses that won the group a much-coveted spot on Fat Possum’s label roster.

“I would say that we are definitely starting to realize our strengths as songwriters and producers, which has contributed to our releases feeling more mature,” Biondillo says. “Our interests and what we listen to have changed as well, and that’s made for a more advanced sound. I think, especially recently, it’s become very important that the songs stand on their own as great pieces of music. It’s become more about getting the melodies and lyrics to connect better and evoke emotion.”

The band’s new focus is clear even on a cursory listen to the album. While previous LP Gracetown saw the group reaching for more raw decisions—including recording in a washroom for acoustic-guitar-led track “Skool”— The Water allows San Cisco to channel that experimental spirit into its choice of gear and uncommon synth sounds.

“The album came about after a bunch of seven- or eight-day stints in the studio,” Biondillo recalls. “The songs are made in a different way every time, but usually it’ll be a riff or chord progression that Jordi or I have come up with, and it’ll be brought to the band and fleshed out into a song from there. I definitely think that we were pushing the technical aspects of recording a bit harder this time.”

One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the band’s ability to connect with a younger crowd—which,

given its own youth, is hardly surprising. Making it a priority to play at allages venues on its North American tour, San Cisco is catering to the kids as much as their over-19 counterparts.

“There have been some funny shows in the past,” Biondillo says, “like when we have the odd stage invasion, or organize a bunch of friends to come up on-stage and dance around for the last song. It’s always a great atmosphere.” > KATE WILSON San Cisco plays the Fox Cabaret on Saturday (August 26).

A scary world leads to the raging birth of Dead Cross

The world is an ugly place right 2

now, with things getting grimmer with each passing day. North Korea and the United States of America are locked in what seems to be an extended nuclear-weapons pissing match. Neo-nazis and fourth-wave Ku Klux Klansmen march through the streets of America to—insanely— find themselves defended not only by Fox News but also by President Donald Trump. And, in a reminder of the tragic 2015 Bataclan attack in Paris, each new month seems to bring a truly horrific terrorist attack on innocent people in Europe.

There are days when it all seems too much for Dead Cross mastermind Dave Lombardo, who is deservedly famous as the punishingly inventive drummer in bands such as Fantomas, Suicidal Tendencies, and Slayer (the last of which he helped found). We’ve all got a choice: sit there in mute horror while watching the nightly news, or do something to channel the insanity. Lombardo has chosen the latter.

“Dead Cross was a long time coming,” says the 52-year-old, on the line from his home in Los Angeles. “I had a previous band [Grip Inc.] that I was working on and experimenting with different styles, but there was something missing, and that was that hardcore edge. When that band fell apart, all sorts of stuff started going down. There was the Bataclan attack. I had personal shit going on at home that was really pissing me off. All this stuff was happening, so I said, ‘This is it. It’s time to put together something heavier and harder than I’ve ever done before.’ And somehow, in a very strange way, it all fell together.”

What you hear with the band’s debut, Dead Cross, is outrage distilled into a strain of hardcore heavily indebted to the ’80s—a time when Ronald Reagan was locked in a cold war with Russia and hundreds of thousands regularly marched in the streets against the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Think blunt fury and double-adrenalized aggression designed to detonate mosh pits right from the first note. Duck and cover when cuing up the shrapnel-throwing “Gag Reflex” and marvel at Lombardo’s tireless work in savage assaults like “Idiopathic” and “Seizure and Desist”.

Lombardo isn’t the only heavy hitter in Dead Cross, which might explain why the band is so blindingly powerful. Fellow legend Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Tomahawk, and Fantomas) is on vocals, with guitar and bass handled by Mike Crain (Retox) and Justin Pearson (the Locust, Head Wound City).

If the various projects of all involved have one thing in common, it’s that they serve up art at its most viciously uncompromising. Forget reacting to the various miseries of the modern world with melancholy introspection.

“My fiancée tells me that I handle adversity really well when things go down,” Lombardo says. “I do get introspective and I do keep things inside. But I also channel it. The emotion of anger is something that can be controlled and redirected, and that’s what I did. The way that everything went down created this perfect environment to create this kind of band.”

His wish for making the planet a little better? That’s easy—if you’re understandably pissed off at today’s world, express yourself somewhere other than Facebook and Twitter.

“Get creative,” Lombardo says. “Obviously, art imitates life in a lot of ways, and right now life in the States is a little unnerving. You’re a little bit angrier than before and a lot of things tick you off. It’s interesting how we were able to capture that and put it on an album. We definitely got lucky.” > MIKE USINGER Dead Cross plays the Vogue Theatre on Friday (August 25).

Curious mind is the key to Roots sideman’s success

If you’re looking for backstage 2 stories about Lady Gaga, Bob Dylan, U2, Amy Winehouse, Sharon Jones, or Ed Sheeran, consider buying Ian Hendrickson-smith a drink when he visits Vancouver next week; the saxophonist has worked with them all. When it comes to dishing the dirt in an onthe-record interview, however, the