The Sunshiny Daze, BROS, and JONCRO
The Sunshiny Daze
Clouds Melt Away // Self Released
Cats... I love cats. Flowers... I love flowers. Especially these ones being Purple Clematis. I was naturally drawn to the album first for this cover art. Let’s face it... the name and album title practically took me by the hand and said c’mon let’s go find some honeysuckle and herbs. It resonated with my spirit right from get go. The Sunshiny Daze, Clouds Melt Away. It just feels like it’s sunny disposition and optimistic vibe are totally meant for me to hear. Which makes me question…..
Do I pick the reviews?
Or
Do the reviews pick me?
Boom! Well that blows my mind, and I’ll have to ponder on that. Or maybe I was just born in the wrong era. The 60’s love vibes are very high in frequency here. So warm, lovey and fuzzy.
The Sunshiny Daze is a special side project of Chris Sleightholm (of Snake River) developed during these Covid times as something super cool to do in lieu of playing shows during lockdown. Sleightholm is very musical. He plays all his own instruments, wrote all his own music, self produced, recorded and mixed his own tracks in his own studio - Song Has No End Studio in Regina, Sask. All recorded between February and April of 2021. Mastered by Orion Paradis at SoulSound Studio also In Regina, Sask.
“Shadows Fade Away” is mysterious with its layered vocals and harmonies. Then the chorus busts in with a super sweet sunshine. The old school Bryds vibe they got going on. I certainly dig the dynamics of this one. The clinking of the keyboard and then some piano. Keys stylings like that of Ray Manzerek from the Doors. Very cool.
For anyone that has fur babies one thing is fur certain, they are family. So naturally having a whole song in tribute to your cats… well that seems only purrfectly fitting to me don’t ya think.
“Joanie and Eno” is a sweet, innocent song with a mellow groove. What do cats dream about? What goes on in their little minds. My husband often says to our cat, “Gingie...tell me the secrets of the mountain.” I think he really does know when he slow blinks in response. The guitar is so grand and gives this song the warmth of a cat curled up on a couch.
“She’s The Electric Light” was the song I didn’t know I needed. This one re-ignited my spirits and lifted me out of a funk. The sha-la-la’s and mesmerizing guitar captivated me. The lyrics are like poetry in motion. Its really best described as a colourful kaleidoscope in your third eye!
The Sunshiny Daze’s Clouds Melt Away pays homage to the free lovin’ 60’s. This one will bring out all the harmonious hippies of past, present, and future. Come out and have a big hug and bong rip! It’s time for singing and dancing again. It’ll be keeping your love vibe high and in an elevated state in mind, body and spirit. We are light. We are love. We are all connected. Love is the answer.
Love always,
Green Noreen
BROS
Vol. 2 // Dine Alone Records
The aptly-titled Vol. 2 by Toronto's BROS (Ewan and Shamus Currie of The Sheepdogs) was released on July 16, 2021, ahead of much fanfare. The music video for the lead single, "Never Gonna Stop", is really cool, you should check it out before you even finish this sentence. The song itself has a late 70s-early 80s vibe to it, complete with horns, clavinet, and electric piano, and the video really plays this element of the music up. It looks like it was filmed on tape, our heroes the BROS are walking the streets of Toronto doing their thing, and the final product is really damn effective. And by effective I mean I watched it a few times and forwarded it to some friends to check out.
The album itself is really snazzy - the aesthetic is seriously cool and kind of frames the music before you hear it. The eponymous BROS have self-described themselves as "two guys with very diverse record collections", and you can definitely hear the range of influence on this album. At times I'm reminded of various classic artists that any record-collector would have in their collection: Herb Alpert, Cal Tjader, Donald Fagen, and so forth. You hear these influences in the way percussion is utilized across the songs, the way the horns swell in and out, and of course the prevalence of electric piano and organ.
Vol. 2 begins with sultry bass and Ewan bringing some serious heat with his vocals ("It's Killing Me"). Listen to the tasteful way the horns pop into the music at 54 seconds and then back off. This album is filled with flair like this - the instrumentation is masterfully balanced and creates a real cohesive force in the music. There's a lot of variety to be found here - "Garbanzo Man" is a cool little ditty that feels like a breeze of fresh air (especially when that percussion kicks in, you'll know the moment).
This album is quite eclectic while remaining true to the vintage aesthetic the BROS have established. A song like "Never Gonna Stop" feels different than say, "Crazy Schemes" - the drumming alone is different enough in these two tracks to indicate that the BROS were aiming for different types of vintage aesthetics in their music (if that makes sense). The lead-single from the album is like a Hall & Oates song or something, while "Crazy Schemes" feels more like a ... McCartney sort of song. The range displayed by the BROS on this album is just as diverse as their record collections. Throw in an instrumental like "Theme from BROS", a song that takes my mind to a busy dock in a city like Los Angeles, swarming with mafia-types and crooked police officers, and this album is truly cooking. And that bass line at the 1 minute mark, oof - that's tasty.
I really enjoy every song on Vol. 2, but as always I like to point out tracks that sort of stood out to me on first listen. In this vein, I really like "Hesitating"; everything about this song exemplifies the cohesion I was speaking of earlier. The percussion and piano sound so good, the way the background vocals and overdubs come in are subtle but oh-so-nice, and the duet between piano and guitar halfway through the song during the instrumental parts are just fantastic. It's difficult to put to words, you just have to hear the song. Play the album afterward. And before anything else, check out the video for "Never Gonna Stop"!
- Alex Bennett
JONCRO
Richmond Station // Self Released
Richmond Station is the debut album from the Mississauga-based JONCRO, a three piece band featuring Daniel G. Wilson on guitar and lead vocals, Matthew Mikuljan on drums, and Kieran Christie on bass and vocals. JONCRO is a great example of what I like to call a “genre-salad”, mixing Caribbean music with garage rock, experimenting with a sound that’s both hard and in-your-face, while still containing an underlying mellow rhythm with effects reminiscent of the mystic and psychedelic.
Daniel G. Wilson describes the album as “basically my ‘going through shit’ album”. Richmond Station explores Wilson’s childhood in Jamaica, using this as inspiration to form a loose-concept album with an underlying theme of redemption. JONCRO invites the listener into a troubled mind as it reconciles with different parts of itself, picking up the pieces and emerging renewed. This theme of transformation is shown best through the self-deprecating lyrics, such as this line from “Nada Mas Queda”: “Nothing remains of the man I used to be / nothing remains but a shell.”
I appreciate Wilson for embracing vulnerability; it’s his personal connection with the album that further accentuates the personal connection with the listener. It’s genuine and, despite the darker moments, you can tell it comes straight from the heart. The album employs help from many talented friends, including Winnifred Wilson, mother of Daniel G. Wilson, and Kwame Henriques Ba, who was brought on as a spiritual advisor.
Wilson said that he hoped people would come away from Richmond Station with a sense of catharsis, and in that, they very much succeeded. I shed a tear to “Dead Yard”, it’s a beautiful song. If you want to connect your ears to your heart, give this album a listen. It’s thought provoking, it’s hardcore, and most of all its fun. It’s a great album to get lost in, and perhaps through your own experience you may feel the catharsis that Wilson intended.
- Brandon Kruze
