JERRY CANS BRING SONIC FUEL
Iqaluit band releases fifth album
Echoes
The Jerry Cans | Aakuluk Music
Iqaluit quintet The Jerry Cans caught national attention with its previous albums showcasing a distinct blend of passionate punk-folk fusion.
Now singer/guitarist Andrew Morrison, singer/accordionists Nancy Mike (who has since left the band) and Avery Keenainak, violinist Gina Burgess, bassist Brendan Dohnerty and drummer Steve Rigby are turning it up many notches with their fifth full-length release, Echoes.
Stars of Nunavut’s “Northern Rock” scene, the band write the majority of their music in Inuktitut, the Indigenous language of the Inuit people.
The band was the driving force behind establishing the Nunavut Music Week that showcases the vibrant and varied music coming out of the region.
Since establishing its Aakuluk Music label in 2016, the group has released albums by artists ranging from trip-hop singer Riit to rocking blues duo the Tradeoffs and legendary Igloolik psychedelic metal crew Northern Haze.
They appear tireless in promoting global attention to the exciting new sounds emerging from their icy home.
Working with Besnard Lakes/ Suuns/land of Talk producer Jace Lasek at his Breakglass Studio in Montreal, Echoes packs in 14 new tunes that meld fuzz tone violin alongside traditional throat singing, synthesizers and good old bass, guitar and drums into one of the most wide-ranging and expansive of the band’s career.
Here are five things to know about Echoes. 1
Atauttikkut
Referencing the Clash’s London Calling at the start, the leadoff single is pretty rocking. The throat-singing is more like a pile driver than a haunting breath in the tune. Add in a great break around the two-minute mark with gospel-like harmony vocals, a clear chiming synth note and then a fluid lead guitar solo, and it’s clear why the band dropped this track first. It sounds great cranked up.
2.
Havava
At first, I read this as Havana and wondered if the band was writing an ode to getting somewhere warm for a change of pace. Wrong. It’s more like an arena rock power ballad, complete with giant resounding drums building to the kind of chorus that Coldplay might write if they came from Iqaluit. There are bits of U2 style guitar layering on the chorus, too. Nice.
3.
SOS
Talk about a change of pace. This is one of the longest songs on the album and easily its most progressive rock style song. Opening with a haunting solo fiddle, it builds up into a moody rocker with huge amounts of atmospheric reverb that, at times, wouldn’t sound out of place on a Pink Floyd album. Like so much of the production, the ebb and flow is always leading up to a significant build. The bass riff at the 3:21 mark and the violin or keyboard that comes in behind it is really evocative of watching the Northern Lights dance across a night sky.
4.
Spring Tide
Is it about receding ice and the shifting waters? Or the rush that comes with new life exploding all over? Take your pick. At 1 minute, 38 seconds in length, it’s one of three lovely instrumentals that break up the intensity of the material effectively. Somewhere in the sequencing of Echoes is an album with a concept behind it.
5.
Kazabazua
Not only is it a really fun title to pronounce, but this synth-heavy track boasts some of the most industrially mixed throat singing ever recorded before it turns into a pretty straight-up wall of sound number that could easily be remixed for an extended spell on the dance floor.
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