Botfly, Archaics, and Touch & Moves
Botfly
Lower Than Love // No Funeral Records
Botfly’s 3rd album, the newly released Lower Than Love sees the band pick up where they left off with 2018s Dark Days. With a new member on the team, the Halifax quartet push on a sound familiar to fans. While they don’t reinvent the Botfly wheel, Lower Than Love showcases a band sharpening their songwriting skills, taking greater liberties in their sound and getting deeply personal with their lyrics.
Lead single “Reflect//Reject” issues peak Botfly. Like “Yellow Brick Road,” a fan favourite from the band's first full length, the track centres around a grunge stained riff, traded between the guitar and bass. The track spirals into an extended wall of sound extro as vocals drone “I dont want to be you. Is that alright with you?”
While Botfly succeed greatly in giving what’s to be hoped, the band takes their brand of noise punk into numerous directions. They expand on dissonance on “Deja Vu” and “The Hurting.” “Migraine Chemistry” comes off as a surprisingly bouncy song for a band known for their aggressive sound. Yet, the furthest stretch the band takes is on title track “Lower Than Love.” Singer Keegan Godspeed performs most of the track solo as he sings a sad tune about youth-hood and growing up. While the track changes the albums pace briefly, the mood captured sits fittingly amongst its thrashing counterparts. It's a side of Botfly hinted at only briefly previously on a bandcamp release titled At Home With Alex (which also features a softer take on “Reflect//Reject”).
Lower Than Love showcases a band building on a sound. The album is a display in Botfly as they flaunt the weighty riffs, hard hitting drums, low tuned bass and harsh screaming vocals pivotal to their noise drenched sound. It's where they take those elements that is most impressive, and their songwriting has never been sharper.
- Kennedy Pawluk
Archaics
and i look to you? // Self Released
With the release of their first album since 2016, Edmonton avant-rockers Archaics have clearly been busy behind the scenes. Their latest offering, a nine track collection titled and i look to you? takes a sidestep from their previous releases to showcase a matured and more intricate sound. The arrangements are not only heightened in complexity, moving in an orchestral direction, but the production level is also unparalleled, capturing the unique authenticity and playfulness of the band.
and i look to you? still encompasses some of the plucky, guitar driven melodies that are immanent to surfy and fast-paced art-rock, but seemingly drifts in a direction that invites inspiration from Motown, funk, rhythm and blues and jazz. Experimentalism is a big theme on this record, with many songs including decadent string arrangements and fragments of flute and violin. The first track “Make It So” is such a profoundly beautiful introduction to the album, wading into the warm tones of the guitar, strings and bass accompanied by gentle yet persistent percussion.
In terms of sound, the relationships established between instruments on each track is part of what makes this a standout project. Where songs like “Fool” and “Tremor in the Vine” bear a significant weight on drums and bass, the guitar holds its own with interesting licks and textured melodies. It’s these intricacies which are so inviting and lush that carry these songs to the next level.
That being said, there are a number of moments on this record that showcase how effective a "keeping it simple" approach can be. Tracks like “Witnesses, We” and “Tremor in the Vine” take advantage of quieter instrumentals and calmer rhythms to spotlight the mysterious and fascinating lyricism. The vocals are soft and wide, giving each song a feeling of narration from afar. The pinnacle of vocal creativity comes on “Repetitions”, where the beginning of each verse is spoken firmly, completely gripping the reigns and taking the album on an exciting three minute and fifteen second detour through a psychedelic whirlwind.
and i look to you? feels in a sense like a rebirth; a reintroduction to a scene that has absolutely been challenged during this pandemic, all while exhibiting a relentlessness for growth and creativity. Yes, this album is a resurgence for Archaics, but I think it will also stand as a pillar in the next chapter for the band who already have an impressive roster of artists they’ve shared the stage with, such as July Talk, Dan Deacon, The Dandy Warhols, SUUNS, and Dead Meadow. Whatever Archaics do next, let’s hope it can be accompanied by some live shows with songs from this release, and that it can happen soon!
- LG
Touch & Moves
1984 // Hand’Solo Records
Hand’Solo Records is a Toronto-based record label whose main focus is releasing and promoting “quality hip hop that is creative, clever and often experimental.”
Touch & Moves completely support that focus.
Moves, a god-like producer, hailing from Halifax and Touch, an Edmonton native becoming a veteran in the hip-hop scene, decided to come together to release a project so coherent and thought out, the result is no less than the most unique hip-hop project I have heard.
The album is based on a book of the same title written by George Orwell. His 1949 release was a dark story that touches on multiple themes such as war, torture, betrayal, and police reform. Touch decided he would touch on the more prominent issues of this decade, in a very unexpected way.
Before we cover Touch, I have to give all the flowers here to Moves.
That production quality and value on this effort is the best part of this album. Moves is untouched. Never have I heard sounds so grimey, so scary, and so dark; the production sounds like an alleyway, in the middle of the night, and you have to keep peeking over your shoulder to ensure your safety. That's how intense it is. That is how I felt listening. Probably some of the best production I have heard in my entire life. If I had to compare him, the only people I would consider would be, The Alchemist and MF DOOM. Now, if I had to compare the overall album, it reminds me of Doris by Earl Sweatshirt. Take the time and listen to the production on this. Any hip-hop head would get joy just from listening to those instrumentals.
Now, onto Touch.
Touch is very unique. Very different. But in a good way. His cadence on the mic almost reminds me of Talib Kweli but the way he flows and pronounces his words reminds me of Royce Da 5’9. His biggest influence of all on this project is none other than Eminem.
He even pays homage to Em on track three, “Though Kryme” and that is only one of the standout tracks on his project. The opener draws you in and creates an atmosphere that you cannot escape. For the next nine tracks, you will be in awe, trying to wrap your head around what just happened.
The whole project is a real journey, which touches on the important subject matter, such as race, and depression. It is captivating and will move you to ponder and think about modern society.
Overall, the duo released what might go down in history as one of the most important hip-hop projects from Canada. They released an 11/10, with no flaws, just perfection. Touch and Moves, in my opinion, should stick together on future releases, because that production would make anyone create their best music and Moves brought out the best in Touch's rapping ability.
- Cameron Kilfoy
