{"id":7731,"date":"2013-10-02T09:00:16","date_gmt":"2013-10-02T16:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=7731"},"modified":"2013-10-01T11:09:26","modified_gmt":"2013-10-01T18:09:26","slug":"new-music-revue-october-2-2013-issue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2013\/10\/02\/new-music-revue-october-2-2013-issue\/","title":{"rendered":"New Music Revue<\/em>: October 2, 2013 issue"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Bosma
\nPirates and Kings
\n<\/i>(independent)
\n3\/5<\/p>\n

This is the seventh album that prolific local musician David Bosma has played on. It\u2019s the fifth solo disc for Bosma, who has also spent time in Victoria bands Seven Year Old Poets, the Poppies, the Wildeggs, and the Splinterz. When it\u2019s working, the album has a fresh sound that feels like a Mumford & Sons\/the Magnetic Fields\/Crazy Horse mash-up as filtered through a very old 8-track tape.<\/p>\n

The trouble is, it doesn\u2019t always work.<\/p>\n

The opening track, \u201cAhead of the Line\/Banknote Blues,\u201d marries social commentary and black humor with a bluesy, end-of-the-night feel. The problem is that it sounds absolutely nothing like the next five garage pop tracks. Also, half the album feels underdeveloped, and a little muddy.<\/p>\n

Poor song order, unfinished ideas, and repetitiveness cause Pirates and Kings<\/i> to suffer from a lack of cohesion, but if the title track is any indication, Bosma has the ability to get it right.<\/p>\n

This is definitely worth a listen, just buy it on CD Baby for $4.99, not $9.90 on iTunes.<\/p>\n

-Laurel Adam<\/p>\n

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Miesha & the Spanks
\nGirls, Like Wolves
\n<\/i>(Saved by Vinyl Records)
\n3.5\/5<\/p>\n

The third album from this Calgary-based garage rock duo crashes and booms in all the right places, thanks to an in-the-red production sound from Ian Blurton, who is sort of like Canada\u2019s Rick Rubin, except that he actually turns knobs, not just vibes.<\/p>\n

Does the world need another short and fast, trashy and raunchy, punked-out garage rock album in 2013? Well, lest we forget what raw and natural production sounds are like, and what real rock and roll is in the face of decades upon decades of music trying to make us forget about real rock and roll, yes. Yes, the world does need that.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s yet another question: do Miesha & the Spanks lay down memorable songs?<\/p>\n

Sometimes they do, which isn\u2019t a half bad track record. For example, the melodies in \u201cWrecking Ball\u201d and \u201cThis Time\u201d (near doo-woppy!) reach, and come damn near grabbing, rock glory: ragged, from the gut, and with just enough honey to make it stick.<\/p>\n

-Greg Pratt<\/p>\n

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\nKim Wempe
\nCoalition
\n<\/i>(Dipole Productions)
\n4\/5Canadian musicians rarely get the recognition they deserve. Coalition, the third album by Saskatchewan-born Kim Wempe, is a prime example of the good quality music that comes out of Canada.<\/p>\n

Powered by Wempe\u2019s rich, smoky voice and her genuine, soulful lyrics, the album features a wide variety of musical styles. And although it\u2019s reminiscent of artists such as Florence and the Machines and Sarah McLachlan, it brings something entirely new to the table.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to predict whether each upcoming song will pluck at your heartstrings or shock your senses awake, although either alternative is an equally invigorating experience. This effect is intensified by Wempe\u2019s brilliant backup band, which complement the vocals perfectly while managing to not be distracting.<\/p>\n

This album is highly recommended for those in search of their next favourite Canadian artist.<\/p>\n

-Jayden Grieve<\/p>\n

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Frog Eyes
\nCarey\u2019s Cold Spring
\n<\/i>(independent)
\n4.5\/5<\/p>\n

Frog Eyes have Victoria roots, but they consistently lay down sounds that are truly without geography. Their quirky indie rock can hardly be described, never mind narrowed down to a region of Earth.<\/p>\n

Imagine if Tom Waits wasn\u2019t as grating and had a bit of a, well, younger sensibility about him. Which isn\u2019t to say Frog Eyes can\u2019t be grating: within about a minute and a half of opener \u201cThe Road Is Long\u201d you\u2019re either going to turn it off laughing, turn it off crying, or keep listening, intrigued.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always been intrigued by Carey Mercer\u2019s completely unhinged approached to both singing and playing guitar (they are a spectacular live band); in a scene weighed down with exhaustive irony, Mercer and Frog Eyes deliver a completely honest and emotional approach to music. On Carey\u2019s Cold Spring,<\/i> they\u2019ve added another textured, dense, and perplexing body of music to their impressive discography, one that, unlike their earlier work, is at its most powerful when it\u2019s most subdued (\u201cYour Holiday Treat,\u201d \u201cClaxxon\u2019s Lament\u201d).<\/p>\n

-Greg Pratt<\/p>\n

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\n

Juice
\nHit the Ground Running
\n<\/i>(independent)
\n4\/5<\/p>\n

This is six-piece Toronto rock\/funk band Juice\u2019s debut album, but their sound goes beyond what you might expect after being stuck with that label: they definitely draw from a variety of genres.<\/p>\n

With a tight horn section and an electric organ, they have a unique sound with influences from indie rock, classic soul, and a bit of reggae.<\/p>\n

Their lyrics are one-dimensional and have room for improvement, but this problem is not uncommon for a fairly new group and doesn\u2019t overshadow the band\u2019s musical talent.<\/p>\n

With the energy that is exhibited throughout Hit the Ground Running,<\/i> it\u2019s obvious that Juice would be an incredibly fun group to watch in concert.<\/p>\n

With upbeat melodies, loud horns, and a few call-and-answer vocals, these guys definitely have what it takes to get people dancing.<\/p>\n

-Giustina Qualizza<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bosma Pirates and Kings (independent) 3\/5 This is the seventh album that prolific local musician David Bosma has played on. It\u2019s the fifth solo disc for Bosma, who has also spent time in Victoria bands Seven Year Old Poets, the Poppies, the Wildeggs, and the Splinterz. When it\u2019s working, the album has a fresh sound […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7732,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,114],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts","category-october-2-2013"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7731"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7737,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7731\/revisions\/7737"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}