Paper Lions - Full Colour and Toronto Show on October 15th, 2016!

Hello fellow Musicpsychos! It’s been a while…How have you been? 

I decided to pick up a pen to write this blog post for the first time in a very, very long time to inform you all that there is a show that you must not miss…my favourite PEI quartet, Paper Lions is headlining a Toronto show at Mod Club this coming Saturday, October 15th With Special Guests, Raven Shields, Featurette, and Inventor

My endless love of Paper Lions started the very first time I encountered their album, Trophies, released back in 2010. ( Time flies…) It was a love at the first ‘listen’ and their infectious indie rock pop songs such as Don’t touch the Dial, Sweat It Out, and Lost the War have been part of my in-shower sing-a-loud repertoire ever since. 

(Here are a couple of my posts in the past : Live show review and my interview with Paper Lions in 2011)

Their music style has evolved over the years through the release of a melodic acoustic piece, At Long Creek and an indie pop masterpiece, My Friends. Now with the new release of their full- album in September this year, Full Colour, they are ready to rock your pants! 

With this new album, Full Colour, these PEI indie rockers found the recipe that perfectly infuses poppy synth melodies over their trademark catchy verses. The first single, Believer, is a perfect example of Paper Lions’ magic. They just got it right; It makes your foot tap from the very first verse and by the end of the song, you will be busting some dance moves that you never thought you had in you! (leaving you with stuck-tune syndrome.)

I have been very lucky to witness many of their vivacious live shows (it’s never enough though!) in Toronto and Austin and every time I see them live, I end up with a big smile on my face and some muscle pain in my legs after dancing like I’ve been shot in the legs. (NO Regrets!!!)

So join me this coming Saturday, October 15th at Mod Club to celebrate the release of Full Colour with Paper Lions. Tickets are only $15. (yes, you heard right. only $15!!!) I’m a longtime Paper Lions’ Believer and this is just so exciting to be a part of!  

For more information. Follow their Facebook event page! 

See y’all on Saturday xo 

Death From Above 1979 - The Physical World Review

100 out of 5 stars - this album will easily be remembered as one of the best releases of the last decade. At least for this listener, it’s quality, complexity, grace, and ferocity has already pushed them beyond where they left off with their first full length “You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine”. The album clocks in at just over 35 minutes of sheer glory.

This is Bryan checking in for your musicpsychos.com track-by-track review.

Cheap Talk: This album starts off just right – cowbell, synths, crunch, and that signature Death from Above 1979 riffage. Get ready to mosh kids!

Right On, Frankenstein!: Glory days that we are glad never actually ended. This song brings me right back to “You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine”. Interesting that they use the Lyric “Same old song, just a different tune”. I feel similarly to that lyric about this – just, you know, in a good way.

Virgins: Heavy, might even

be the heaviest they have tried to be together. Deep chugging thunder – paired with social questions they are known for sneaking into their catchy as hell dance-punk with an equally catchy refrain of “Don’t ever change, Bad is Good Enough.”

Always On: Knowing that Jesse F. Keeler almost joined Queens of the Stone Age as a bassist, its no surprise to hear a track that could easily be on a Queens/Kyuss record.

Crystal Ball: This song is pure Death From Above ferocity – refined and polished into sharp piecing steel. Having their time apart to find themselves and find what that means for Death From Above 1979 helped them to truly pinpoint what dto do in the band together and they do it so well.

White Is Red: The ballad to end all ballads. When I heard this live during their tours, I wondered what it would sound like on record and if it would translate – and it works even better on record. This might have a chance of eclipsing Back History Month as everyone’s favorite down-tempo DFA1979 song. It certainly has for me.

Trainwreck 1979: The first single released from The Physical World was not one that easily resonated with me at first. It took many listens before I “got it”. I thought it was too pop – and it is definitely the most mass-market accessible song on the album – but then again Sexy Results is a lot of folk’s favorites and that song is insanely pop. Just heavy as hell – which is the same here. Not gonna lie – listening to it now, its definitely going to be stuck in my head again for the next 24 hours.

Nothin’ Left: Aside from the updated production vales that comes with experience in the studio - this one sounds like it could have been pulled right off of “You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine”. Sure to please old school fans and new alike, the feel is very Little Girls

Government Trash: Second Single caught me and kept me listening a thousand times in a row. Straight-ahead DFA1979 Punk. They left their dancing shoes at home for this one. Pure aggression and I love it!

Gemini: Tight fills, tight fills, and tight fills! Chugging rhythms, chugging rhythms, and chugging rhythms! Everything you expected it to sound like until they have the big huge wide-open chorus! These boys get better and better with composition. My only issue with this track is its length! I wish it was way longer!

The Physical World: Oh, did I say that Virgins was the heaviest track? I lied. Pure doom metal on this track – paired with house synths with auto-arpeggiators, chugging lines and synth stabs, with vocoder verses. An almost “Mr. Crowley”-eqsue Randy Rhoads style solo on bass to finish the album off too. Damn. This may be both the most Death From Above 1979 sounding song and the Least Death From Above 1979 sounding song ever. It doesn’t have to make sense to be DFA – it just has to be awesome.

And it IS.

Bry

The link to stream via iTunes can be found in the link below:

http://www.stereogum.com/1702450/stream-death-from-above-1979-the-physical-world/mp3s/album-stream/

Live show review: Band of Skulls, April 24th, 2014 at Phoenix Concert Theatre

Southampton, UK based rock trio, Band of Skulls axed the Toronto audience with their classic rock inspired act on April 24th, 2014 at Phoenix Concert Theatre during their North American tour to support their latest release, Himalayan. I heard such positive reviews from my friends about their opening act for Soundgarden at iTune Festival during this year's SXSW, so I was all hyped up like a little girl when they showed up on the stage.



Opening up the show with the first single off the new record,  Asleep at the Wheel, British rockers showcased their simple, yet reminiscent classic style of 70's rock n' roll. The unison of monotone guitar jamming and consistent drum rat-a-tats flourished the dynamic chorus during the song. The guitarist, Russel Marsden and the bassist, Emma Richardson, shared the lead vocal duty interchangeably. Instead of layering different vocal pitches, Marsden and Richardson collided their vigorous voices, which cohesively complimented each other. 

The groovy guitar riffs invited the audience to the swaying party with the following tune,  Himalayan. In the middle of the song, the repeated harmonies of "Himalayan" slowed down the tune and then it  jumped into a jaw- dropping guitar solo and again, slaughtered the audience with such a beguiling chorus. The set consisted heavily on the new release but they continued to entertain the audience with fan favourite tunes from previous releases, such as You Aren't Pretty But You Got it Going On, I Know What I Am, and Patterns.

My highlight of the performance was from the encore, where they played Light of the Morning. Marseden commenced the song slowly by himself and was in the limelight of the entire venue, while he hauled his guitar and voice fiercely, which caused and audience eargasm, including myself, which they shouted at the stage with excitement. The feel of the moment was so warm and raw, which is what makes live shows so special. 



Band of Skulls is a band that you like songs on their records, but attending their show makes the listeners love them even more. These songs are spiced up with their tenacious and vibrant performance that you can only experience it in the moment. It is so nice to see a three piece classic band who can show us what real rock and roll is in today's digital age. A band like them will always have a big space in my soul.