Sugar Me Sweet

Psych-soaked surf-gaze from Toronto, Canada doesn’t come much better than Odonis Odonis. Multi-instrumentalist Dean Tzenos is behind the project – a revolutionary of sorts, who locked himself away for 60 days to record his debut album Hollandaze. His work is a sought-after commodity; with three labels teaming up to release Hollandaze, all in different formats. Buzz Records has the tapes, Daps Records has the CDs and Pleasence Records has the vinyl. 60 songs were recorded during the Hollandaze sessions, all busted out in Tzenos’ own self-built recording space, but only 11 have made the cut. 49 remain locked away, hopefully for a mad boxed-up collection sometime in the future. Inspired by The Jesus and Mary Chain, Thee Oh Sees and A Place To Bury Strangers, Odonis Odonis’ sound is a fusion of not only his influences but also his instrumental capabilities. Tzenos plays surf-guitar like Link Wray but knows exactly when to hit the distortion pedal, and the addition of industrial sounding percussion gives his music a grimy appearance akin to Throbbing Gristle. Similarities can also be drawn to psych rockers Wooden Shjips and New York garage-punk soloist Nice Face.

Hollandaze is set for release on November 7 and pre-orders are being taken over on Odonis Odonis’ bandcamp page. Pre-ordering the album will get you an immediate download of the album so you won’t have to wait for the physical product to arrive in the post. Also set for release, this time via FatCat Records, is Odonis Odinis’ second album Soft Boiled Hard Boiled, recorded with the help of Black Mountain’s Colin Stewart and Kathryn Calder of The New Pornographers.

Odonis Odonis on Facebook

Posted by Nick Fulton under Canada, Toronto
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Shine A Light In A New Direction

Toronto band The Guest Bedroom first came to my attention in 2007 when they released their excellent sophomore EP Movement. Back then they described themselves as “anti-chorus and pro triumph”, making a raucous dance-punk racket with shouty vocals and an inbred Canadian punk philosophy. At the time bands like You Say Party! We Say Die!, Adjective and The Creeping Nobodies were all riding a similar buzz. In 2008 they released Treading Water/Blowing Smoke, their third EP, moving in a punk cabaret direction, while distancing themselves from their dance roots that drove comparisons to YSP!WSD!. Now, with their debut album A Year’s Supply Of Rabbit’s Feet due out on November 19, they’ve shifted things again, losing the “anti-chorus” attitude in favour of a more disciplined sound, ricocheting between jagged guitar riffs, new-wave organ slides and informed lyrical choruses. There’s hints of Deerhoof in the flip-floppy nature of the guitar riffs, which on previous Guest Bedroom EPs have been overshadowed by loud driving organ dubs, and there’s more nous to Sandi Falconer’s vocals, which sound less pronounced among the band’s noisier instrumental crusade. It’s a more mature, grown-up record from The Guest Bedroom, looking forward into the future rather than back into the past. A Year’s Supply Of Rabbit’s Feet is an alternative punk record, without question the dance-punk label has been firmly left behind; proof’s in ‘Tough Luck’, ‘Ugly Thoughts’ and ‘Wanderlust’.

A Year’s Supply Of Rabbit’s Feet will be released on November 19 via Popstick Records. The Guest Bedroom has kindly allowed us to share a track from the new album, listen to ‘Kingdom’ below.

The Guest Bedroom- Kingdom: MP3

The Guest Bedroom- Myspace

Posted by Nick Fulton under Canada, Toronto
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Cold Hands and Warm Ghosts

Sharing the sadness and emotional vulnerability of Joy Division and the daft electronic drive of Hot Chip, Alt Altman aka Digits makes some of the most life enriching pop music I have heard in quite some time. It’s rare for me to be drawn to music with such an emotional quality, but I find myself returning time and time again to Digits’ perfectly nonchalant songs. The Toronto musician’s brand of electronic indie pop has a strange sense of isolation, often bordering on loneliness, but his music has a way of expressing more than that, reveling in a kind of diffident awkwardness. Altman’s lyrics steer the music for the most part, resting alongside his dainty guitar chords and soft electro synths, but it is his bass lines that add life and colour to the songs, adding a bouncy adolescent energy to counteract the music’s overall shyness.

Altman started Digits in March, 2009, and released his debut album Hold It Close on September 24. The album can be downloaded from his bandcamp page. A couple of the tracks are free but I recommend that you pay the little bit extra and download the whole album.

Digits- Sarah: MP3

Digits’ Website

Digits- Myspace

Posted by Nick Fulton under Toronto
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