Home Front, Gabrielle Shonk, and Benjamin Dakota Rogers
Home Front
Games of Power // La Vida Es Un Mus Discos
As opening track “Faded State” bleeds from buzzsaw-edged distortion, through gauzy nostalgic synths, and settles into its pulsating new wave bounce, Games of Power grabs you by the shirt collar with undeniable urgency and pulls you in. Get in kid, we’re going dancing.
On their debut full-length record, HOME FRONT deftly captures the compelling, era-bending energy of their live show, which, I can attest, is an irresistible dance-along. The tracks on Games of Power seem intentionally crafted to hit some interstitial nerve somewhere in the space between dancing barefoot on the kitchen tile, shaking a gloved (leather, fingerless) hand at the capitalist police-state, and staring out the rear seat window on a rainy downtown night. The twelve tracks (plus one bonus, depending on your medium) on Games of Power are tenderly and lovingly layered, wistful and evocative.
HOME FRONT’s core duo of Graeme Mackinnon and Clint Frazier have firmly rooted Games of Power in the new wave tradition. The album easily - though not derivatively - conjures associations with the likes of The Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen or New Order. The LP also draws influence from across the range of punk and post-punk spectrum, while breathing new life and energy into the genre as well. At turns, like on “Real Eyes,” “Crisis,” and “Born Killer” Devo-esque cyber hooks and robotic vocals churn overtop densely layered synth swells, bleeps and boops, and electric drum tones.(Speaking of “Real Eyes”, the reverberated “Ugh!” in the chorus is about as perfectly delivered and sincere a lyric as you could possibly ask for in a punk record). At other moments, gothy, Misfits-cloaked croons drift in, such as on “New Face of Death”. On “Nation”, there’s a hardcore grittiness pounding at the door, thanks to the loaned vocals of guest Cal Graham and the RIXE backing choir. Many of the album’s best moments are also its most anthemic - swelling, expansive, and driving. My personal favorite “Overtime” captures this in a touching examination of the slow process of grief and healing, as lines like “hurts a little less over time” are delivered with both hook and heart.
Sonically, HOME FRONT manages to create a refreshing emotional space - harnessing the sincerity and neon energy of 80’s post-punk and various forms of wave, while playing with, rather than falling victim to, the grey cynicism also familiar from the era. Lyrically, the album is emotive, existential, and defiant. It’s not clear if there is a deliberate homage to Edmonton in these tracks, but it’s easy to imagine their sonic textures bouncing around among the city’s blend of Soviet-era brutalist / spaceship futurist architecture. At the very least, Games of Power certainly manages to harness the City of Champions’ undaunted sense of self. And I’ll dance to that.
- Chris Lammiman
Gabrielle Shonk
Across The Room // Arts & Crafts
Montreal-based artist Gabrielle Shonk digs deep on her sophomore album Across the Room, an introspective project that confronts her inner self and the messiness of relationships lived and lost. With over five years separating this project from her self-titled debut, it’s reflective of the time it takes to know oneself, each track a compassionate untangling, unafraid to retrace steps through past pain, mistakes, and understanding.
Opener “How We Used To Be” begins in this past, as Shonk considers returning to a relationship that might be better off left alone. Conflicted, she sings “I hate you, I love you, I miss you.” This romanticized nostalgia plays out on a simple chord progression, the relaxed drumbeat stirring up a feeling of longing for what once was.
Shonk’s vocals are on strong display throughout, often soulful and gentle, but pushed to their heights on “Remember to Breathe”, where that simple mantra belies an initial panic, as her climbing falsetto drowns in reverb. Having your mind and emotions work against you feels familiar to Shonk, continuing into “Reminds Me Of You”, a melancholic and beautiful lament. An Amy Winehouse-esque cadence appears on the verses here, creating a push-and-pull that releases into a sweetly drawn-out chorus. These elevated vocals make an appearance on the tender “5AM” as well.
Across The Room can be sorrowful, full of failed and misplaced relationships. But it’s balanced by Shonk’s steady rhythm and Jesse Mac Cormack’s complimentary production. The themes of sadness are backed with a sense of wisdom, as if Shonk realizes she will rise up again… but not until she hits the bottom first. In satisfying recognition of her lowest point, the album finds its stride on “Aftertaste”, a groovy jam with sprinkled synths not unlike pop-rock singer Caroline Rose. Shonk admits “I’m running out of clever ways to keep faking that I’m fine”, but she’s at her best in this moment.
On “People Pleaser”, her abandonment of perfection is exactly what’s needed for a love-worn songstress in need of some self-care. It’s reminiscent of the folksier sounds of her first album, but adds electric guitars and vocal fuzz for a little more edge.
Across The Room is spiritually tumultuous, falling into moments of dejection but lifting its head in defiant self-realization. The final French-language track, “Quand le calme reviendra”, was penned by Shonk in the midst of a stormy writing retreat, leaving space for what comes next when the skies clear. In these dense clouds of soul-searching, the only way out is through.
- Paige Adrian
Benjamin Dakota Rogers
Paint Horse // Good People Record Co.
Folks, I need to preface with: If you only have time to read this article, or listen to Paint Horse, please listen! Nothing I write can amount to the experience you will have compared to listening. There are times when music and artists enter your life, at what would seem to be sometype of a divine intervention. Benjamin Dakota Rogers is that artist who came to me at a very poignant time. For the past six months I have been on a journey of rediscovery of my love of Country music. Not pop Country music, singer/songwriter Country music, the good kind! I’ve been inspired by Tyler Childers, Sturgill Simpson, Ryan Bingham, Jason Isbell, and now, Benjamin Dakota Rogers. His music is real, genuine, passionate and emotional driven.
Every song on Paint Horse is extremely well composed and produced. When I listen to the album, I feel transported into the room when he recorded it. Relaxingly rocking in a chair and reveling in the music swirling about the studio. I say this with conviction, Benjamin belongs in the same conversation and on the same stages with those I previously mentioned.
“I’ve been running from salvation, I never go fast but I can’t seem to slow down.” - track “Greyhound” This song is like diving into the deep end of lyrics riddled with imagery, loneliness and delivered by a voice which believes every word he sings. In fact, the album never says too much, it never says too little, it says exactly what needs to be said.
Paint Horse is now part of my library. The one I use when I just need to self connect, feel relaxed and find my natural deep breaths. I truly cannot implore upon you how truly remarkable Benjamin is. If any of you know the music producer for Yellowstone, please do this for me. Write Benjamin Dakota Rogers on a piece of paper, rip his name from the paper, walk up to the producer and say, don’t let this guy slip by.
“Neither life, the world, nor I are perfect. Music is a representation of life; therefore, perfection cannot exist within music if it’s being honest.’
- Branton Langley
