The Sadies, Ian Blurton's Future Now, and WAKE
The Sadies
Colder Streams // Dine Alone Records
Well, this one is tough. The final album with founding member Dallas Good, Colder Streams is an unexpected swan song at the height of The Sadies musical domination. Despite it all, Sadies fans couldn’t have asked for a more suitable posthumous album from one of Canada’s finest rock legends. CS is true to Sadies form as it mixes a joyous blend of raucous, rollicking licks with their delicious and inimitable brand of prairie alt-country that we’ve come to adore. Expertly produced by Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Perry, there’s little more we could ask for from Dallas’ unexpected farewell.
When asked to write a bio for the album, Good donned his characteristic facetious hyperbole and wrote, “[it] is, by far, the best record that has ever been made by anyone. Ever.” You’d be justified in feeling annoyed by such a quip if they didn’t follow it up with a contender for one of the great Canadian albums, but the Sadies delivered. Behind Good’s snark was a kernel of truth, and he knew it. I can see him smirking now.
The album tends to ebb and flow just as streams settle just in pools, only to continue downstream when its time comes. From explosions of splashing cymbals and piercing licks, to emotional ballads, to gentle contemplative tracks, The Sadies once again assert themselves as experts of their craft; they were able to take me along their ride and manipulate me at their whim through every twist and turn.
Colder Streams is a veritable hit list of classic Sadies attitude that is so difficult to define but so unmistakable when you hear it. But CS isn’t merely a rehashing of what they’ve always done well, it Is the fully cut and polished diamond that has been slowly and painstakingly extracted from the rough over decades. This is The Sadies, fully realized. It is already essential listening in the great Canadian songbook. Few bands find themselves in their finest hour after such a long and fruitful career, but here we are.
Eventually, CS it explodes into a cacophony of overwhelming and hopeful tone in “End Credits,” where it builds and blooms to an optimistic and awesome roar, until eventually fading into a wistful haze. As it faded slowly, and finally to nothing, I found myself sitting there drained, in silence, with the gentle hum of a fan in the other room. There could hardly be a better way to tie a bow on this chapter for The Sadies as the cement dries around their status as Canadian rock legends.
Thanks for the tunes and the memories, Dallas.
“He died all alone, but he was never alone.”
- Clay Geddert
Ian Blurton’s Future Now
Second Skin // Pajama Party / Seeing Red Records
When an album’s cover art is so totally mind blowing it literally jumps out, demands attention, grabs you and holds you tight. Each and every time you look at it you notice something new in the artwork. I was drawn into this LP with it’s psychedelic feel that engulfed me in total a sensory delight...this is Second Skin by Ian Blurton’s Future Now.
So who is Ian Blurton’s Future Now?
We have none other than Ian Blurton shredding on guitar/vox, Aaron Goldstein grinding on guitar, Anna Ruddick bringing the bass/vox, and Glen Milchem slaying drums and vox.
Well let’s dig in...
“Like A Ghost” was the perfect banger to start the party with it’s booming drums and screeching guitars. It gives off a good Ozzy/Sabbath kind of vibe and had me banging my head within the first few bars of the first song. It’s got these sweet guitars licks and a real groovy breakdown. Full attack on the drums. It’s got a wicked 70’s and 80’s metal/hair band feeling and definitely had me feeling a little nostalgic.
“The Power Of No” brings a slow and heavy vibe with the heavy chugga chugga of the guitar. It’s got a sound like Ruby the Hatchet. Dark, heavy, powerful. Feeling of deception. The buildup to the chorus with those thundering drums and that riff change!! Haunting guitar solo. Whatever they are battling..this song is the battle cry and they won. They slayed it!!
We’re gonna slow it down for a moment. Just cause it’s slow and heavy, don’t assume anything. Slow and heavy wins this race. I interpreted “Too High The Sky” as a tale from Greek Mythology. The tale of Icarus who ultimately perished trying to fly too close to the Sun. Balance was key. Patience too. Perhaps it was desperation or perhaps it was ego that ultimately was his demise. I greatly appreciate when story telling is put to music. Stunning vocal harmonies. Beautiful scaling guitar riffs. For a slower track it’s packs all the punch.
Ian Blurton’s Future Now has released an LP you’ll want to dig into right now and then take with you into the space and time continuum. It’s got that timeless vibe with it’s classic 70’s/80’s metal feel you just can’t help yourself but headbang! So headbang away to all day to Second Skin!
Be good to each other.
Love Always,
Green Noreen
WAKE
Thought Form Descent // Metal Blade
Calgary Alberta’s Wake have come a long way in their 13 years. The band’s beginnings were of a grimy and brutal grind variety but they have not sat still in their style. Thought Form Descent is vast, desperate, and well worth the time.
The album’s eight tracks run over 45 minutes with one short track amongst another seven that take their time to build and release and iterate. The longer song structures earn their stay with their clear and motivated emotional content. Given Wake didn’t break the three minute mark on most songs in their first 9 years, their ability to build strong, eight minute tracks speaks to their talent. The album takes a moment to get started. Guitars build a spacey harmonic world over a simple snare pattern. I really wasn’t impressed when I first heard the opening and it still isn’t my favourite thing. But when it kicks in. Does it ever.
This album makes use of blast beats in a magnificent way. Though Wake is not the first band to use blasts as emotionality through frenzy, they have the concept locked all the way in. The blast beats on the album aren’t so fast that they become stressful or take away from the harmonic movement but still ride the line of exhaustion and the feeling of having to keep up. The drums are furious and busy without taking away from the song. They drive the music forward while making time for some excellent fills.
The guitars have their sound sculpted to a point where enough grit exists to carry the chugging and the fury while not being so dimed as to muddy the chordal playing. The washy higher voicings live in delay and reverb while low power chords and bass fill out the bottom. Chugging riffs are all over the album but defy monotony as they move through dramatic vamps. The pitched instruments stick mostly to these wide and lush chord progressions but the moments of lead playing really shine through. “Observer to Master” has some of the craziest soloing I’ve heard from a metal band. I really hope we get to hear more of that freneticism from Wake in the future because it was the album’s high point for me.
Kyle Ball’s vocals are varied and expressive. All of his screams are drenched in agony and manage to sound incredibly human despite their power and texture. The monotone yells that feature on the album as back ups are a surprising delight. Though on paper they’d have me doubtful, their execution is revelatory. The way they blend with the wall of guitars made me feel unsure if they were even there or just a group of overtones my mind shaped into a voice. These backing vocals do well to carry the summit of chord progressions but their evocation of auditory pareidolia is the most interesting thing they bring to the project.
Listening through this album the number of times I have, I’m grateful for what details continue to pop up. A lot of the details I hear owe their perceptibility to the flawless production on this album. The mix is well tweaked to deliver the full power of the album and blend the instruments into a cohesive form. I like my metal gruff and raw but I can’t deny the value of clarity for what this album is. Give it a listen.
-Tobias Hart
