KEN mode, King of Foxes, and Adam Baldwin
KEN mode
Null // Artoffact Records
As far as Canadian noise rock is concerned Ken Mode is about as good as it gets. For nearly two decades brothers Jesse and Shane Mathewson along with Skot Hamilton have been piercing eardrums across the world with their abrasive thrashing. The band has never feared experimenting with new elements cementing their own space within the noise rock realm, so much so that the band won the inaugural year of both the Juno’s and Western Canadian Music Award’s heavy music categories. Null the new album from the now four-piece sees Ken Mode adding long-time collaborator and multi instrumentalist Kathryn Kerr in as a permanent member, and to a pummeling success. Null continues the band's progression into the abrasive dissonance that has made Ken Mode so beloved, but the addition of Kerr provides a whole new pocket full of tricks. The band's sound has a greater depth throughout the album but it’s the little accents provided by Kathryn that prove most satisfying.
Opening track “A Love Letter” kicks off the onslaught and immediately parades the despair that bleeds throughout Null. Lines about hatred for the insufferable quickly shift to self deprecating screams of “It was a mistake to ask me for help.” Meanwhile flailing skronks of saxophone push the chaos even deeper. The track is punctuated with Mathewson blaring out “something is broken, something is fucked,” a feeling everyone has felt plenty of over the last years as society devolves. Noise track “The Tie'' pushes Ken Mode into new experimental boundaries a la Einsterzende Neubauten, a sound acutely pushed further with the addition of Kerr. On “Unresponsive” Ken Mode bust out their signature move ditching guitars all together in favour of more bass. An absolutely gruelling track that stamps a big period onto the end of the album as Matthewson repeats “unresponsive, replaced, abandoned, forgotten, erased.” A proclamation of Matthewson’s anguish.
Ken Mode has become notorious for the technical acumen of drummer Shane Matthewson. Watching Ken Mode live it's hard to take your eyes off the guy. Null shines a light on him with such crisp production on the drums, piercing through the deep low chugging of guitar and bass. The only qualm with Null comes from the desire to make more out of the bass lines. There are great rhythmic lines played by Hamilton that leaves you wishing they were accentuated more. Instead the bass sometimes comes across as a general assault of low end and when both guitar and bass follow each other it can sometimes be hard to make out anything rhythmic from the two.
Null is not for the faint of heart. There’s nothing happy about the album and it's unrelenting. Even the “lighter” moments aren’t nice as the whole album has a desperation unparalleled on past releases. It’s the result of two grim years where the Ken Mode’s members main outlet for catharsis was stripped from them. It’s evident in the music, but while the years over covid stole any sense of relief, it loaded its members with a whole new anger and energy that’s heard all over Null. These elements can sound pretty unappealing to many, but as far as fans of Ken Mode go this is exactly what you’d hope for from the band. Ken Mode is an unrelenting force. It’s music that sounds like it’s strangling the life out of you. If being strangled by a sonic decimation sounds appealing to you you can catch Ken Mode this fall as they tour across North America with support from Frail Body.
- Kennedy Pawluk
King of Foxes
Twilight of the Empire // Crystal Baby Music
Every music scene has its pecking order, from the garage rockers playing their first ever set at a dingy bar, to the aging rockers now touring the casino circuit. Ladies and gentlemen, if you have not yet heard of King of Foxes, you are about to be introduced to one of Edmonton, Alberta's top-tier indie acts. Local-scene royalty (see what I did there), King of Foxes has earned that reputation through three solid well crafted albums, great live shows, and constant work and hustle supporting the community as a whole. Their latest album, Twilight of the Empire, is a sonic rollercoaster, and one of their best.
The timeline for the new album was a genius play. Since today's Spotify audiences seemingly have no patience for full length albums, King of Foxes took the cunning approach of releasing a new single every six weeks leading up to the full album's release. They also produced four high-production music videos to accompany the singles, and it paid off big time, exposing them to the larger Instagram/TikTok/Youtube world. The end result is feeling like we knew this album intimately from start to finish, even before it arrived on our doorstep.
The five prerelease singles collectively cover a lot of musical ground. The songs range from straight ahead pop with "Doomed to Repeat", to the rockier "Swimming in the Undertow", then some Latin and Squeeze inspired takes with "Only Here on Loan" and "Seven Years". The video for their last single, "Pleasant Solutions", looks like it was as much fun to make as it is to watch; absolute pro quality stuff. Now of course, with this much variety it could have easily turned into an incoherent mess, but solid hooks and outstanding instrumentation tie everything together seamlessly. The vocal melodies are so intricate yet so perfect for each song; the group's lead songwriter, Olivia Street, has a magnificent ability to perfectly arrange words with melodic lines. These songs are not just stumbled upon; you can absolutely tell each component has been carefully crafted by a band at the top of their game.
Even though they're not cool anymore, the 'deep cuts' on this album are where it really shines. The three middle tracks, "Good Man", "Dark Horse", and "Never Mine" would put many of today's EPs to shame if released on their own. They dive right into the heart of pop-rock, with thick guitar riffs and a driving rhythm section. There are definite Metric and Ruby Waters vibes with these songs, and again the melodies and songcraft tie everything together.
King of Foxes is the real deal. They are hardworking pop-rock artisans, and Twilight of the Empire is a stunning example of what music can sound like if you put the effort in. Their accolades are well deserved, from an AMPIO Best Music Video nomination, to a 2022 Western Canadian Music Award nomination for Rock Artist of the Year, to even a recent tour of Japan. Absolutely check this banger of an album out, or catch one of their live shows; they make Edmonton, Alberta, and Canada proud for a reason!
- Matt Budd
Adam Baldwin
Concertos & Serenades // Sonic Records
The day is ingrained in my head: the country went into lockdown, confusion and fear is abundant. One man took it upon himself to grab his Macbook Pro, an acoustic guitar, a small mixer and start a YouTube livestream. This selfless act was a beacon of calm in a storm for me - a beam of hopeful light cutting through the fog from that lighthouse in Little Lorraine. Adam would turn this into a regular Friday evening series, Cross-Country Chin Up.
From where I am sitting, I see Cross-Country Chin Up as being an emergence for Baldwin. Unquestionably, he has made his mark as one of Canada’s great storytellers! My analogy of cutting through the fog from a lighthouse, was a segway to Adam’s 5th track on Concertos & Serenades, “Lighthouse in Little Lorraine”. The song is based on both fact and fiction, and tells a story of distrust, cocaine trafficking, betrayal, and ultimalely, murder. If you want an introduction into how a song grows, develops and comes to life, please listen to “Lighthouse in Little Lorraine” on Adam’s YouTube channel - Cross-Country Chin Up episodes. I was so hopeful he was going to record this song, and I was blown away by its transformation.
“They call me Danny fingers, and how I got that name is a source of some contention, so let me set it all straight”. The perfect exposition for the story of a “dark and dirty betrayal on the Causeway Road”. This is another example supporting my proclamation of Adam’s emergence as one of Canada’s top storytellers. “Causeway Road” pulsates with a building mood, encouraged by the introduction of new instruments, and at the song’s resolution, it attains a lustrous width and depth.
I often close an article, recognizing the mixing, mastering and production of the album. This time, however; acknowledgement and thanks should be presented to TV Host, Martha Wainwright. Adam and Martha sat together during dinner break, and Adam shared he was in a place where he felt he had, “a foot out the fucking door of this whole racket”, refering to his music career. Thankfully, Martha scolded him, as he put it, “like a dog”, righting his ship, and ultimately bringing life to Concertos & Serenades.
If you have never stepped foot in Nova Scotia, this album is your opportunity as it will take you from Cape Breton, Springhill, Fall River and to Eastern Passage. Give the LP a listen and I promise you, you will enjoy your stay.
“Headphones. That’s the only way to listen to music. It’s all kinds of different emotions because you get real quiet and comfortable and just listen to it.” ~ Gregg Allman
- Branton Langley
