Gifted merchants of psych-pop
What’s the deal?
An offbeat object of Calgary-scenester pride for nearly a decade, Lab Coast has grown so good at making a certain species of scuffed-up, smallscale psych-pop that the rest of Canada really no longer has any excuse not to pay attention.
OK, OK. Maybe not the rest of Canada on, like, a Drake scale.
But there are definitely pockets of indie-rock seekers from coast to coast previously smitten with the lovable lo-fi output of Guided by Voices, the Apples in Stereo and the whole Lou Barlow/Sebadoh/Folk Implosion/etc. diaspora — and whose ears might, perhaps, prick up as mine did at the mention of Strapping Fieldhands as an influence in the latest Lab Coast bio — who will find lives their immeasurably improved by contact with Lab Coast’s recently released fourth full-length LP, Remember the Moon.
Lab Coast’s bandleaders, vocalist David Laing and multi-instrumentalist (and sometime Chad Van Gaalen sideman) Chris Dadge, are a pair of anything-goes experimentalists fond of capricious studio effects, arcane instrumentation, punny titles — “The Pointe of it All,” “Missed Ache,” “Helen Bach” — and jammy freak-out interludes, but at heart they’re gifted bubble-gum merchants who simply have a habit of occasionally distracting listeners from that gift.
Fortunately, it’s an endearing habit on the Barlow/Syd Barrett/Rick White spectrum and a huge source of Lab Coast’s charm.
It doesn’t hurt, either, that the live lineup featuring Sammie Smith (Samantha Savage Smith), Henry Hsieh (Cold Water, Crack Cloud) and Darrell Hartsook (Prenup, Sissys) is adept at cutting through the vagueness of the recordings and hurtling the tunes forward with a gnawingly contagious sense of purpose.
Sum up what you do in a few simple sentences
“Lab Coast writes pop nuggets. We try to make tunes that we, as fans of the pop songs, would want to hear, and then hear again and again and again. David walks around the city’s streets and parks moving melodies and words around in his head, then Chris dresses them up with chords, rhythms, and any other sounds that catch our fancy.”
What’s a song I need to hear right now?
“Bored Again.” A brisk blast of fizzy/ fuzzy wonderfulness.
Where can I see them play?
At the Burdock Music Hall on May 18, with Century Palm and Dorothy Paas. For more information visit burdockto.com/musichall.