NOBRO, Elephant Stone, and Tennyson
NOBRO
Live Your Truth Shred Some Gnar // Dine Alone Records
I’ve spent the past 2yrs being quiet, and reclusive. For an introvert it’s been good to honour the space and time away I need to recoup my thoughts and become centered again. But then... there comes this point where I decide okay I’m rejuvenated and ready to go out into the world again. I’ve rested my body, my mind, my spirit, and now I’m ready to punch back. I’m grasping whatever joy I can find at this point.
So in my quest for joy I’ve found a sweet spunky punky 4 piece from Montreal, Quebec called NOBRO. They’ve got a smokin’ hot new EP titled Live Your Truth Shred Some Gnar that came out on February 23rd, 2022 through Dine Alone Records. A little riot grrl and sunshine all rolled into one sugar sweet EP. Kickin’ all the blues to the curb. Taking out the toxic trash. Go Rambo workin’ out. Huh! We desperately need some good anthems right now. Live Your Truth Shred Some Gnar meets all the criteria of kicking ass.
So who’s NOBRO?
Kathryn McCaughey on Lead Vox, and blasting the Bass. Karolan Carbonneau grinding Guitar, and Vox. Lisandre Bourdages killing the Keyz, and Percussion. Sarah Dion destroying the Drums. You can also look forward to seeing them touring Canada with Billy Talent, and Anti-Flag this Spring! Now let’s kick out the jams.
The first track, “Better Each Day” starts off with the organ fading in and a choir singing. Complete with hands clapping, and finger snapping. Starts off slow then, ”Being a Bitch is not illegal”, and the sound of a beer being cracked. Then it hits you with a bang like shotgunning a beer, and smashing it on your head. This was the right anthem to start things off with. It’s got all the right key elements. The La’s and Ooh’s. This one will surely have you stomping your feet.
So much inspiration and good vibes to blast out on your ghetto blaster or bluetooth speaker. Whether you're out shredding or cruising around you’ll be getting down to the likes of “Eat, Slay, Chardonnay.” A super spicy number that will inspire you to conquer any conquest. Slaying tasks, working hard. A pat on the back at the end of the week with a glass of the wine. Another super rad anthem!
When NOBRO isn’t doing killer anthems they’re captivating with a slower heavy metal sing-a-long sound that is “Not Myself.” With the squealing and squelching guitars. It’s like a 80’s hair metal dream mixed with the Grrl band growl like The Runaways. It’s got the glitter, the growl, and the hairspray to keep your hair right while you head bang away. Sugar sweet vocals with some edge. The backing vocals really bring a deadly dynamic.
With Valentine's Day over many still may be floating on clouds of Love from the efforts of their significant others. Or maybe it’s the weather. I never heard what the groundhog said, but it feels as if Spring is in the air. “Get With You” is a proclamation of attraction and intense desire to um you know... Get With You. Sometimes a song says it better especially if you're the shy type. This one will be on every mixtape, and playlist for those trying to send a certain message. My favourite parts of this song is Sarah Dion doing a Neil Peart drum solo. I feel that statement is a worthy comparison. I’m adding drums to my repertoire of instruments I can play and have been practicing them seriously lately. This solo was inspiring and I loved bongos in the background too. Sarah your an inspiration.
Thanks NOBRO for reminding me that I don’t take shit no more. I do live big, and dream big. I will continue kicking ass and slaying everything that needs slaying. Keep getting up, and dusting yourself off. Just get back on the board. Life really is too short. Live Your Truth Shred Some Gnar. Be good to each other.
Love Always,
Green Noreen
Elephant Stone
Le voyage de M. Lonely dans la lune // Elephants On Parade
Elephant Stone are once again making waves in the Canadian music scene with their first release since 2020. The Montreal psych pop pioneers, who typically write and record in English, have for the first time produced an EP entirely in French titled Le voyage de M. Lonely dans la lune. Frontman Rishi Dhir romantically referred to this project as “a love letter to Montreal, Quebec, and all of our French-speaking fans around the world”, a solid sentiment to listeners near and far who have continued to support throughout some of the toughest years for musicians.
Now I do have to disclose that as a non-French speaking person, I had to use some translation tools to gain insight into some of the lyrics. That being said, Le voyage de M. Lonely dans la lune is a collective of not just songs, but stories, each track an act of one M. Lonely’s journey to self-rediscovery. Inspired by the struggle of international lockdowns and the imperfections of humanity, Dhir’s narrative undeniably shines a light on the questions and ideas surrounding personal connections and self-awareness during turbulent sociopolitical times - do we really need one another, or are we better off alone?
“M. Lonely”, the first track, introduces us to our protagonist and his plan to leave humanity behind and shoot for la lune (the moon) in his fusée du chagrin (that is, his rocket of sorrow). This song definitely holsters the eclectic sounds of a well seasoned psychedelic band; rolling drums fills, juicy bass lines and even a pick slide to send us into the first verse. The next phase of the expedition leads us to takeoff with “La Fusée du Chagrin”. The fuse of the rocket burns slowly for seventeen seconds, give or take, before projecting the rhythm through a time warp of sustained synths and powerful, pulsing drum and bass. Easily the most energetic song on the EP, it sounds like what I imagine it would feel like to experience Star Trek’s warp speed before the entire ship stops suddenly, delicately floating into “Solitude”, the penultimate track on Le voyage de M. Lonely dans la lune. With hazed and dreamy lyrical nuances, “Solitude” emits feelings of discovery, acknowledgement and acceptance: “Je laisserai tout tomber, l’apesanteur me gagnera. insoutenable légèreté, laisse-moi, abandonne-moi // I will drop everything, weightlessness will win me over, unbearable lightness, leave me, abandon me”. This soft, cosmic ballad not only answers some of the previous questions about connection and experience, but touches directly on quarantine and isolation and the feelings that come with a sudden and complete disconnect from society. It’s a tasteful narrative that Dhir uses to connect with listeners, in a way letting us know that we really are all in this together. As we reach “Adieu”, the fourth and final act, there is a definite climactic and conclusive energy driving this song. Swirling guitar, arpeggiated synth, marching drums and Dhir’s gentle vocals sing the story through the heat of the atmosphere and back to earth.
There is no doubt that musically this EP has been precisely crafted by experienced hands. Produced, recorded and mixed by Rishi Dhir at Sacred Sounds Studio in Montreal, the band has captured an unmistakeable cosmic flow of psychedelic sounds and hypnotizing vocal melodies. Regardless of language, the narrative permeates through the tones and energies presented on Le voyage de M. Lonely dans la lune making this a very special EP.
- LG
Tennyson
Rot // Counter Records
Tennyson’s debut album Rot is something of a document of decay. As the story goes, 25 year old Luke Pretty was back living in his childhood bedroom, doing jumping jacks warming up for a run, when he noticed his floorboards ‘sounded like a water bed.’ His floor was completely saturated with mold and he was forced to move out while the space was renovated, the floor torn up, the infestation unearthed. The songs on this album, then, were created with a humble ambition: to work out a feeling during a hard time, to self-soothe through the act of creation. What emerged from these experiments is a stunningly multi-chromatic array of lovesick electro-pop anthems, where Tennyson ducks and weaves through deft arrangements like a pro athlete, pulling back when you expect him to strike, and exploding into dazzling pyrotechnics the moment you drop your guard.
“In My Head” immerses us in a mind overrun by anxiety, half-formed words scrambled into noise, the world speeding up, thoughts cycling round and round until they become unrecognizable. “Feelwitchu” is a feat of contrasts, trading effortlessly between racing percussive antics and moments of sublime minimalism. His vocal is center stage, something of a new revelation in Tennyson’s sound, and here the repeated lyric “Don’t think about it too much” could take the form of a personal mantra, reminding himself not to dwell on the things that eat away at our foundations— whether it be a relationship falling apart, or the creeping doubts that fester in the corners of our minds. English singer and songwriter Rae Morris features on “Slow Dance,” elevating the somewhat obvious lyrical content into something melancholic and beautiful, and Tennyson drives the sub-frequencies hard, coupling plucky arps and shimmery strings with Morris’ soaring vocal. “Get Gone” boasts the album‘s jazziest chop-ups, and “Reallywanna” is radiant ear-candy, with its babbling brook and birdsong samples forming the bedrock of a seemingly endless build-up, climbing like a neverending sunrise. Personal favorite “Figure Eights” might bring to mind something like Boards of Canada’s “Dayvan Cowboy”, pushing beyond samples and synthesis to deliver a surprisingly dirty, guitar-heavy ripper that serves as a fiery, meteoric conclusion to the album.
The cover of Rot speaks volumes to Tennyson’s progression as an artist. Where previous album artworks have tended towards the illustrative and graphic, here Pretty is naked and submerged in water, his morose expression smooshed against a glass wall. Some commentary about the relationship between audience and artist could be made here, but I think the main takeaway is that this, more than any release of his before, is a declaration of identity. This is an album about Luke Pretty himself— going through shit and coming out the other side with music. And atop this new foundation, Tennyson has undoubtedly created some of his finest work yet.
- Harman Burns
