Red Hot Gospel/U.S. Girls
Red Hot Gospel
Flamenco // Independent
Almost 10 years is a long time to do anything. And that amount of time in a band is extremely rare these days. Edmonton's Red Hot Gospel chose to go out on top. Releasing their third full length Flamenco at their last show seems a fitting end to one of Edmonton's more consistent and hard working trios.
Up this point, Cups N Cakes, has participated in a three part farewell series and a Vinyl Unveil. If you missed them, check it out here:
Part I, Part II, Part III, Vinyl Unveil
Flamenco is the culmination of 14 months of writing, recording and editing. Eight months later, Cody Blakely won a “mix-off” to mix the album. Through that process, Blakely immersed himself in the effort, and basically became a member of the band. After all that, you'd better manage to accurately capture 14 songs and 20 minutes of RHG. Well… the effort shows. And in the band's estimation, it was the first time the mix and master went perfectly. I have to agree that it sounds great. Clay Marshall Francis was chosen for mastering duties, while Clampdown Vinyl Pressing in Vancouver handled the physical production.
Often brutal, and always short, Red Hot Gospel songs are fun bursts of expression and frustration. My favourites include "Mouth Breather", "No Bueno", and "Chump". Brett Klein (from Boosh and Street League) lent his vocals to "What's Yer Name", an instrument switch up that sees Jay on skins, Kendall on Bass and Owen on Guitar.
I love it when people have the luxury to determine their own fate. Choosing to go out on top, at the top of your form is a great power move. We'll see these gents in other projects around town. But for now, it all about Red Hot Gospel.
Red Hot Gospel have a Red Hot Record.
- Drew Cox
U.S. Girls
Heavy Light // 4AD
U.S. Girl’s seventh studio LP is every bit as paradoxical as its oxymoronic title Heavy Light suggests - the pop act’s new release 4AD is biting and reflecting while being delightfully poppy. It is fiercely honest and intimate while holding the musical capacity to pack stadiums.
This paradox reveals itself in the record’s opening track “4 American Dollars” where sole contributor Meghan Remy scathingly remarks that “We all do what we gotta do to pass / In this world where they say, "It's not personal, it's business". This jarringly honest critique of the pop industry is decorated with some of her most addictive instrumentations yet - It’s deliciously rich turn-of-the-eightees rhythm sections elevated by soulful vocals. The juxtaposition is beautiful - It’s a bitter pill made easy to swallow.
“State House” is the Jesus & Mary Chain’s “Just Like Honey” for a modern, more vitriolic age - every bit as dense as its predecessor while reflecting a female frustration rendered razor-sharp by the songwriter’s monolithic capacity for articulation. “The Quiver to the Bomb” is every bit as triumphant as it is critical - It begins as operatic and ascends to an uncompromising gallop.
On the record’s closing track Remy delivers reprieve through collective frustration - in the anthemic “Red Ford Radio”, a discontented track that implores thousands to join in with her.
Heavy Light is the achievement of a matured songwriter - reflecting on life’s traumas and how they shape us. It is by no means a celebration, but rather a derisive acknowledgement of life’s pains. In finding a path to navigate these traumas, Heavy Light reveals a path.
- Connor MacDonald
