Lovely Company, The Pierce Kingans, and Katie Tupper
Lovely Company
Long Hot Sad Yellow Days // Self-Released
My main goal during my tenure at Cups N Cakes is to promote the works of independent musicians. Of course I can’t cover everything, but I try my best to help get the word out about albums, sometimes despite my own feelings. To me it’s about promotion over critique. I don’t know enough about music to judge it on its artistic merit, so I try not to play favourites. However, sometimes I come across a music project or album that perks my ears to the point of serendipitous pleasure. Lovely Company is one of those groups.
I’ve already covered two releases from the Vancouver-based alternative indie rock group. The first, Tenderness, was one of my favourite albums of ’21, and their prolific production gave me several singles and EPs to listen to for the remainder of the year. Now that we’re in ’22, we’re blessed with their first album of the New Year, Long Hot Sad Yellow Days.
Featuring their iconic bass lines and dreamy style of indie rock, this six piece release takes a variety of forms, from the classic indie jams of “The Silence That Surrounds Us” and “Black Cat”, to the darker, melancholy sound behind “Spilled Milk” and the titular track “Long Hot Sad Yellow Days”.
Every new release from Lovely Company helps cement my view of them as my favourite independent Canadian act of the decade. They’re always making new music, almost faster than I can cover them. They deserve a lot of love for the passion they put into every song they make, and if you enjoy the sounds of reverberated guitar and strong bass lines, then Long Hot Sad Yellow Days is an album bound to take your ears on a vacation that they so desperately need.
- Brandon Kruze
The Pierce Kingans
May I Pierce Upon You // Subjangle
It’s a bit of a daunting task for a reviewer to contend with the enormity of material contained on the gargantuan, 30 track collection May I Pierce Upon You, the second such collection from Subjangle Records following up the 20 track CD Pierce and Love to all the World from 2020. If you aren’t familiar, Vancouver’s Pierce Kingan is a tremendously prolific singer songwriter, late of garage rock darlings The Prettys, and since the dissolution of that unit, he’s been steadily cranking out a pretty much relentless stream of absolutely pristine pop EPs, the latest of which, Achieving Inner Pierce is contained in its entirety on this latest CD compilation from the South African indie pop imprint.
Genius not being a word I casually throw around, it’s certainly fair to say that in the least, when an artist is capable of putting out a body of work this immense without sacrificing quality or retreading old ground, there’s certainly something above average going on. Pierce Kingan is certainly an artist operating comfortably within his creative prime, firing on all cylinders and producing work that is consistently high quality and envelope-pushing, and performed by some of the most sympathetic and tasteful musicians in the Vancouver community. Production wise, the tracks “Code Pink” and “Validation” from the newest EP represent a definite high point in his craftsmanship; they are mini pop symphonies replete with lushly orchestrated harmonies and complex and beautiful songcraft and arrangement, easily putting paid to the idea that pop perfection requires a large budget to achieve. A tip of the hat to Evan Matthiesen from Victoria’s The This for the stellar mixing work.
The most appealing aspect of The Pierce Kingans body of work is the sheer variety; each song on an EP is treated as a distinct piece, with sharp stylistic definition. Over the last 4 years there’s been about 14 full band EP releases, and each sticks out as genuinely distinct from the others, with different guest musicians, sonic textures and production aesthetics. Getting a broad sample of selections over a collection like this is a real treat, and much less imposing than trying to dig through the byzantine labyrinth of releases on their Bandcamp page. Of special note are his collaborations with Christof Bedé: they are lush synthtastic off-kilter pop gems with a delightfully sensual vibe, the best of which is possibly the brilliantly funky track “Entropy,” which shows up in two different versions on this collection, both equally compelling.
Despite the variety, Kingan is no dilettante; there’s almost a surfeit of vulnerability here that draws every track into a united oeuvre and presents him as a fully realized artist with a definite message. “Love is hard to talk about and accept; I have songs that I can sing lovingly inept,” he sings on “Staying Up Late,” a song that functions almost as a mission statement for his artistic persona. There’s a willingness to engage in emotional honesty with the listener that makes for a genuinely intimate musical experience. Elsewhere, on the masterful paen to open-heartedness “4 Minute Black Out” he declares “Love can’t find you if you don’t want to be found,” recalling similar statements made by outsider pop genius Daniel Johnston.
Ultimately, the main selling feature of this mammoth comp is that none of the tracks come off as superfluous. Even the rare tracks that aren’t immediately ear-catching give the feeling that repeat listens will bear fruit. On my second play I found a whole handful of great tracks to enjoy that I didn’t notice on the first run through. It’s actually mind boggling how good this collection is, given that we’re looking at the second such batch of quality tunes over the span of time when most artists are lucky to have put out an album or two, and the comp genuinely feels like a “best of” with almost all the songs coming off more as singles than back catalog. This is power pop at its absolute best, recalling bands like Big Star, Apples in Stereo, The Knack et al with the bedroom auteur quirkiness of R. Stevie Moore, Syd Barrett and Daniel Johnston thrown in for good measure. Fucking brilliant stuff, and well worth a long, deep dive.
- Shaun Lee
Katie Tupper
Towards the End // Arts & Crafts
The debut EP from Saskatoon singer-songwriter Katie Tupper arrives with a splash of neo-soul smoothness. Prior to its release, Katie Tupper built up hype for Towards the End by sharing a few early singles and creative music videos. Tupper, who performs with Saskatoon group the Soulmate Collective, previously wrote and sang on two acclaimed vbnd albums’ Scum Funk (2021) and Daughter of the Sun (2018). Now, she is stepping into her own artistry with this well-crafted five song EP.
Towards the End opens with the familiar drum sound of the neo-soul genre – the forefront snare & stick strike that is heard on classics that launched the genre like Erykah Badu’s Baduizm and Lauryn Hill’s Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Opening song “Live Inside” might cause one to initially think they pressed play on Hill’s “Lost Ones” before Tupper appears with her deep, smoky vocals: “Can I lay in your clothes tonight / cuz I’m tired of mine / think they’re tired of me / Can I lay in your eyes tonight / just keep them closed / so I stay behind”. The EP continues to flirt with this organic sound, bouncing between hazy down-tempo lounge vibes and more funk-filled danceable grooves, while shining a bright light on Tupper’s sharp lyricism.
Tupper’s vocals are a highlight of the EP and she demonstrates that she knows her voice well, but she is also not afraid to leave space for the air to do the talking. Instead of belting out a line or continuing with an overdrawn run, she often utilizes effective pauses and lifts – case in point at the end of the second verse of “How Can I Get Your Love” when she sings: “Three days have gone since I hit your phone, I’m wondering if you’re home.” A tasty pause follows the shortly sung two-note “home” right before the track’s catchy hook returns. That’s not to say that Tupper can’t pull off a smooth and dynamic vocal run. There are many examples of her skillful singing laced throughout the five tracks: she slinks down into her impressive lower range à la Joss Stone, and floats effortlessly into her falsetto showcasing her well-honed ability to find harmonies and glide in and out of melodies. “Danny” has moments of these types of inspired vocal runs while she dances with heartfelt lyrics like: “Picking the skin off of my lips / my love, my love you made me like this / And I guess by now I can admit / your family never liked me and I never liked them / And it scares me to say that out loud / but what’s the worst some words can do to me now / Danny, you let me down / gave me habits I’m only breaking now...”. “Danny” has a captivating music video where Tupper carries a mannequin lover on her back as she climbs up a mountain... before the video ends with a playful surprise.
Recent single “How Can I Get Your Love” is a perfect palate cleanser halfway through the EP – the song has a Feist-like vibe with its guitar work and background vocals (“get your love back”), and like Feist, Tupper draws on personal experiences as she sings in a direct yet easy-going manner: “I still see you leave the light on, and I’m glad that you do / even though I know now you do it for her... how can I get your love? / I know you got another lover, but being honest that don’t matter, so how can I get your love?” “Cost of Loving You” comes through with lush strings, warm keyboard, and romantic hooks reminiscent of some Spice Girls’ material – most notably sensual songs like “Too Much”, and “2 Becomes 1”. Tupper ends Towards the End with the comforting, easy feel of “Misbehavin’”, gracefully lulling listeners into pressing repeat on her debut EP until she blesses us with her next release.
- Gregory Torwalt
