Beach Body, Ghostkeeper, Leathers, and Conduit
Beach Body - Count Every Bird
Three years out from their incredible debut album, Waking Holiday, Regina’s Beach Body quietly dropped a mini-album that shouldn’t be missed. I’ve been a big fan of this band for some time and was excited to hear what they’ve been working on over the past few years. What is immediately noticeable is their ability to create atmosphere with a quiet cool that sounds effortless. The songs all have a “laissez-faire” vibe, a contemplative confidence that is hard to achieve sonically. It’s an album perfect for this time of year, the darkness is setting in earlier and earlier, the leaves are changing and falling, and we are all getting prepared for our most dominant season. Count Every Bird will help you adjust from the hustle and bustle of Canadian summer to the slow pace that winter brings.
Ghostkeeper - Cîpayak Joy
When it comes to art, it’s important to push oneself, to try new things. When musical acts get stale, it tends to be when they are “giving the people what they want” by churning out the same template over and over. This idea of pushing the envelope is refreshing and the latest album from Calgary’s Ghostkeeper gives us a brand new sound to latch onto. Veering into electro-experimental territory, Cîpayak Joy is a breath of fresh air. The album title is a Cree term that translates to 'the ghosts are dancing' and was originally meant to be the name the duo of Shane Ghostkeeper and Sarah Houle would use for their collective visual art practice. Thankfully they put this under the Ghostkeeper moniker so that these amazing experiments in sound could be heard by more ears. I’ve been loving this foray into a different sonic world for Ghostkeeper.
Leathers - Ultraviolet
Shannon Hemmett has been most known for her work in the glitzy post-punk band ACTORS but that is about to change. In fact, hardcore ACTORS fans need to be concerned as Hemmett’s debut album as LEATHERS may well become the more important musical outlet for her moving forward. Riding a fine line between darkwave and synth-pop, Ultraviolet sucks you in with its slick production and sexy aesthetic. Hemmett has harnessed the power of synth based music and elevated it to new heights. There are some 80s comparisons which may be apt but those inspirations are much less polished. This record is as tight and shiny as the leather outfit Hemmett dons on its cover.
Conduit - Ultra Mystik b/w Rapid Decay
This summer a band from Vancouver called Conduit dropped three demos on Bandcamp that I happened to stumble upon. I enjoyed them, they were raw post-hardcore tracks with a singer who reminded me of one of my favourite Edmonton bands from the past called Slates. I was really excited to see they were on the bill at Purple City Music Festival so I went down to check em out and laughed out loud to myself when I saw James Stewart, the frontman from Slates on stage singing and playing guitar in his new band Conduit. It was his vocal delivery that initially grabbed me but the intricate dance between guitar and rhythm section has me digging in deeper. This is a great two track introduction to this new band.
- Jeff MacCallum