Peach Pit welcomes the rain with Normal
Peach Pyramid is dreamy and ethereal on Repeatingmyself; Apollo touches down with a chillwave/disco-funk masterpiece
APOLLO Skydive (Independent)
PEACH PIT Beingsonormal (Kingfisher Bluez) 2Despite the title of its previous
EP, Peach Pit has certainly not been doing Sweet FA since its record was released last year. Industriously writing a full 10-track LP in nearly as many months, the group has crafted a debut album, Being So Normal, which is anything but.
Occupying similar sonic territory to one-time Vancouverite Mac Demarco, the record’s laid-back, summery jams belie their complexity. Kickoff number “Drop the Guillotine”—a song that has fast become the group’s calling card after racking up over 100,000 Youtube views—is as close to a rock anthem as the band’s slacker-indie sound gets, recounting the tale of singer Neil Smith’s best friend swooping in to steal his high-school crush.
Storytelling is the linchpin of the album, with Smith’s entertaining lyrics ranging from the tongue-incheek desire not to go to an electronic-music night on “Techno Show”, to the title track’s discussion of a lost love after a hair restyle. Characterized by lazy guitar chords and jangly solos, the four-piece’s signature sound lopes along at a leisurely pace.
That’s not to say that the record isn’t versatile, though. “Alrighty Aphrodite” steers the album in a new direction with a muted, minor riff, supported by rock chords dripping with overdrive and an aggressive wah-pedal solo. “Hot Knifer”, too, shows off Smith’s velvety tones by stripping away the band’s intricate arrangements in favour of harmonized, bluesy vocals and jazzbrushed drums.
Pitched perfectly at the turn of the season, Being So Normal is the ideal soundtrack for staring out the window at the gentle Vancouver rain, dreaming of June, and taking a nice long hit on a bong.
PEACH PYRAMID Repeatingmyself (Oscar St. Records)
2As a veteran of the music
scene, New Pornographers’ Kathryn Calder carries a weighty local influence. Recently setting up a new label, Oscar Street Records, the singer combed the West Coast for the best unsigned talent. Nabbing a coveted spot on the roster, then, is a big responsibility—but Peach Pyramid, the alias of Jen Severtson, more than stands up to the pressure.
Severtson’s biography is particularly relevant to Repeating Myself. Landing in Victoria by way of Calgary, the artist has experienced feelings of displacement and uncertainty that surface in the lyrics of the album. Exploring themes of abuse and healing, lines like “Tugging my strings, I won’t feel a thing/ Make me a fool again and again” from opening number “Getting Cold” rub up against “It’s true/ I do/ Want to give in to you” on the more upbeat “Truth”.
Don’t imagine the record to be heavy, though. Before tuning into the lyrics, you’ll think Repeating Myself has all the hallmarks of a summer album. Juxtaposed with her heartfelt discussions of life and love are breezy, elegant melodies and reverb-soaked, swirling gui- tars, replete with hazy harmonies. Severtson’s voice is flawless when skipping between pitches on tracks like “We Glide/she Sighs” and manages to slip between dreamily ethereal and aggressively powerful on album standout “My Collapse”. Add to that a selection of pop hooks that Feist would give her right arm for, and you’ve got a record that’s designed to calm and enthrall as much as reveal Severtson’s deepest thoughts.
> KATE WILSON
Sky2Far from being in freefall, dive is a tight, masterfully produced electronic record that runs the gamut from chillwave to disco funk. But it nearly didn’t turn out that way. Last month, Joel Jasper—the producer behind Apollo—had his laptop stolen out of his apartment when he was just metres away in his bedroom. All the project files and stems for the tracks were lost, but, by chance, Jasper had uploaded the nearly finished songs onto his private Soundcloud account a few days prior. After a Kickstarter campaign to replace the laptop raised $1,500 in a week, his debut album was finally released.
Beginning his career as Kalibo— an identity that has seen Jasper open for the likes of Hot Chip, Bondax, and Kungs—the musician has left fingerprints of his first project all over the record. That’s by no means a bad thing. While a Kalibo track might include a chilled house beat and a female R&B vocal feature, Apollo sees Jasper embracing a funkier, Kaytranada-esque vibe but chopping up similar vocal samples.
Case in point: the album’s second number, standout “Arrival”. Fuelled by a strong four-on-the-floor kick drum and a pumping ’80s synth riff, the disco-stomper boasts a growling bass line and a breakdown that a late-career Michael Jackson would be proud of. “Disco Paradise”, too, reveals warm synth pads and a groovy bass riff, complemented by a mix of vocal parts—a clear development in Jasper’s production technique.
Dipping into the territory of electropop-focused Flume, neo-soul outfit the Internet, and local producer Pomo, Apollo has opened up a new avenue for Jasper— one that, given the relevance of his new sound, will carry him far.
> KATE WILSON
EYE BENDER Tomorrow (Independent) 2In an era when guitar bands
continue to be supplanted by DJS, making a rock album is a bold decision— especially when that record is more Black Sabbath, Rush, and Fleetwood Mac than Imagine Dragons. Quality, though, is timeless—which is good news for upand-comers Eye Bender.
Heavily influenced by classic ’ 70s and ’80s acts, guitarist and band leader Victor Yong pours his efforts into resurrecting a genre so good that we’re not sure why it disappeared in the first place. Faithful to the familiar crunch of hard rock but never shying from adding melodic piano riffs to the mix, Eye Bender has created a seven-track debut that uses the wealth of experience of its players to maximum effect.
Coming alive on tracks like “Tomorrow”—promoted by a slick, Twilight- esque Youtube video that’s already garnered 14,000 views—the group crafts catchy pop melodies and overlays them with overdrive- soaked guitar. Shifting from a classic love song to a ballsout rock jam, the track sums up the mood that runs throughout Tomorrow: loud and boisterous, but harmonically complex.
Singer Betty J. contributes powerful, gritty vocals that are refreshing in a typically maledominated genre. The singer shows off her range best on the menacing “YOU”— a track that owes a lot to Deep Purple at its darkest.
Sure, new classic rock is becoming harder to come by. But as Yong and his bandmates prove, just because almost nobody is doing it these days doesn’t mean it’s not cool.