New Garage Rock: "Rosy" by INVASIONS

INVASIONS are a Canadian garage rock band who wears a ska/Clash influence proudly. They've just released a song, "Rosy" for you to check out:



Here's an earlier song, "Ballad of the Faithful" - a little slower tempo, but similar guitar, backbeat and some Farfisa-style keyboards:



And a video of them performing "Cursed Comfort", just so you can see they bring it across live, too:



They're putting out their debut album this week - based on these songs, hopes are high. They'll be playing an album release show and several other dates in Canada soon - you can read all about it at their website - links below.

INVASIONS website
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NEW SONGS: Pete Van Dyk and the Second Hand Band - "Shake Me" 3-song 7" (Free download)

Pete Van Dyk and the Second Hand Band is a blues-based garage rock outfit from Burlington, Ontario. We've featured them before (WYMA post here), and we still find the same things to like about their sound - only this time, more songs and a second lead vocalist show a bit more range. The band is Scott Carruthers on drums and vocals, Pete Van Dyk on vocals and guitar, J.D. Norwood on bass and vocals and Ed Van Dyk on lead guitar. On the first track, Pete's guttural howl delivers the vocals, and Ed plays a strong lead and a scorching solo over the last minute or so.



"Plan B" is a bit more urgent, and British Invasion/punk-oriented, and features Carruthers on vocals:




"To The Night" is Van Dyk on lead vocal again, and it's a Stonesy bit of blues rock with some country touches and some really good lead guitar work:



You can download it free, or buy a 7" at their website.

Pete Van Dyk website
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NEW SONGS: Feel Alright - "Oahu Ohio" 7"

Feel Alright is another Canadian band from Mammoth Cave Recordings (we recently featured Gold from the same label). Based on these two artists, Mammoth Cave has struck a productive lo-fi beachy, punky vein. This stuff is just instantly, completely enjoyable, with the reverb, the upbeat guitar line, and on the title cut, "Oahu Ohio", the slightly cracked falsetto vocal in the chorus.



And here's "L'esprit de l'escalier" - with a super-catchy, fast, lighter-than-air guitar line that leads into a noisy chorus and another great falsetto vocal and, finally, a crashing finish - all in 1:46.



Finally, "Dark Incantations", with a definite Beach Boys vibe, but with, as its title might suggest, a dark side that only makes sense, as these kids likely got into punk rock before they even heard the Beach Boys (I'm just guessing). I love the drumming on this one.



Well done, kids, and well done, Mammoth Cave. This thing will literally extend your summer, even if only for a few days... It's out now (vinyl released Aug. 30) and you can download for "name your price" or buy vinyl at Mammoth Cave.

Feel Alright Bandcamp
Feel Alright at Mammoth Cave Recordings

NEW SONG: The Royal Oui - "When You Lose Your Mind" (from Forecast EP, out in Oct.)

The Royal Oui is a Vancouver-based duo playing a style of folk that features acoustic guitar with reverb, minimal percussion and some spectacular vocal harmonies. Ari Shine and Adrienne Pierce have recorded individually for some time, and together as the Royal Oui since a little while after they married in 2008. This is really beautiful stuff - her high, light vocal and his understated style mesh well together, and based on this song, they create a highly evocative sound behind the vocals. Here's "When You Lose Your Mind":



And here's a little video teaser for the EP:



Listen, learn more, check out tour dates at their website or the label, File Under: Music.

The Royal Oui website
File Under: Music

New Dream Pop Discovery: Gold - Losing Your Hair EP

Gold is a Calgary-based dream pop outfit featuring some absolutely beautiful guitar sounds, guazy vocals and a gentle, steady rhythm. They have just released a 4-song EP, Losing Your Hair, which is the result of a session they did last year with the late Chris Reimer of Women, who played drums on the songs that make up this record. The band characterizes this release as a tribute to Reimer:

"We started recording these songs in January 2012 with the intention of spending a couple of months demoing all of our material in preparation for a full length studio album. Our drummer, Chris Reimer, had brought over his beloved 4trk cassette deck, small mixer, and collection of microphones and we spent some days and nights together playing with gear. On February 21th 2012, Chris passed away unexpectedly in his sleep of a previously undiagnosed heart condition. This EP is an archive of the four songs we had completed with Chris on the drums and the console, and is dedicated with so much love to him and the inspiration he filled us with."

Here's a live performance of "Waters":

Gold - Waters from OCL Studios on Vimeo.

Stream the EP here:



This stuff will take you to a beach someplace - it's got that wonderful combination of reverb-laden guitar and ethereal female vocals our regular readers will be familiar with. Mostly because we at WYMA love that sound...

Band consists of Kaelen Ohm (The Shrapnelles), Rena Kozak, Chris Dadge (Lab Coast, Samantha Savage Smith, Snailhouse, Woodpigeon) and Matthew Swann (Extra Happy Ghost! / Astral Swans). I'm not too familiar with the rest of those bands, but this is really wonderful stuff so I am hoping they all make Gold their primary project and put out some more of this.

This record is on Mammoth Cave Records.

NEW SONGS: Flamingo Bay - "Serpentine" b/w "Bleed" from upcoming album Loco Pony

Calling their music "Northern swamp rock", Flamingo Bay has the stomp, swagger and best of all, the guitar noise to make good on the promise of a Canadian band who entitle an album Loco Pony. Yeah, I didn't get it at first... but on my second listen, as the first track "Serpentine" hit about the 0:50 mark, I got it... Crazy Horse. The turnarounds in the song, the guitar riffs, the crashing drums - all of it is impeccably done but simple and just dirty as hell. And the vocals contain more than a passing resemblance to the great Alejandro Escovedo. If that's not enough for you to check these guys out, you probably hate rock and roll. Which is fine, but I just don't know what you are doing here. Here's "Serpentine":





Here's "Bleed" - which contains all the guitar swagger, but is more uptempo with a lot of punk energy, and some guitar feedback:



The band consists of Dillon Henningson, Kris Gies and Vince Rankin - a hard-working power trio with a ton of promise. This single is free for now on Bandcamp (just click through the links above), the album's due out in September - if you like guitar rock, don't waste any more time. Grab this gift from north of the border.

Flamingo Bay Facebook

Summer Mixtape EP - Free download from The Dirty Nil - including GbV cover!

Hamilton-based punk band The Dirty Nil has just released a new 4-song mixtape EP - they're covering some outstanding punk and garage rock from The Misfits, Iggy Pop, Guided By Voices, and Merle Haggard. Merle Haggard? Well, honestly, songs don't get much more punk than "Mama Tried". Haggard blurred the line between country and rock, and in the history of rock lyrics, the line "I turned 21 in prison" is one of the all-time best:



Here's "Game of Pricks". There was exactly zero chance I wouldn't post this thing - their cover is really good. Energetic, with good guitar tones and vocal harmonies:



And here's a video for "Zombie Eyed", a song from their split single we shared earlier this year (WYMA post here):



The Summer Mixtape and the previous single are available for "name your price" or free download at Bandcamp. And The Dirty Nil is definitely on our radar.

If you're in Canada, make note of their "Assholes of Summer Tour":

JULY 18: TORONTO, ON - MAGPIE TAPROOM
AUG 8: GUELPH, ON - VAN GOGH'S EAR
AUG 10: LONDON, ON - THE APK
AUG 14: WINDSOR, ON - FM LOUNGE
AUG 16: HAMILTON, ON - THE CASBAH
AUG 17: ST. CATHERINES, ON - MANSION HOUSE

The Dirty Nil Bandcamp
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New Post-Punk Discovery: Japanese Girls - Sharkweek EP

Japanese Girls have just released a 5-song EP, Sharkweek. They cover a fair amount of ground in the 15:00 of the EP - and I enjoy the metal guitars, crazy vocals and the overall WTF spirit of this band. Here's the video for "Vancouver Grizzly":





This is heavy post-punk with a pounding rhythm section, some real virtuosity in the guitars and serious attitude in the vocals, which range from high-pitched wails to guttural roars. To me it's reminiscent of Seattle grunge and The Cult, but with the occasional seriously metallic guitar riffs. And they even show some nice pop moves on the closing track "Friday The 13th". I think this is a band to watch.

Japanese Girls website
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New Prog/Punk Discovery: WTCHS - "Mr. Hands" b/w Thoughts On Air - "Harness"

WTCHS is another act we've come across from Canada (Hamilton, to be specific) - with an urgent, lo-fi heavy rock sound. Check out "Mr. Hands" - available as a free download on a 2-track single with a track from another band. Here's the WTCHS track:

And here's "Harness" by Thoughts On Air - it's slow-build art rock with a lo-fi element that is pretty endearing:

And, finally, here's a previous WTCHS track, "Adult Crimes" - 

This is terrific stuff - WTCHS would have fit in well with Fugazi or 

More WTCHS from Buzz Records.

More Thoughts On Air from Perdu.

New Guitar Rock Discovery: Pete Van Dyk & The Second Hand Band - "Rise The Falling Sun"

Pete Van Dyk & The Second Hand Band, of Hamilton, Ontario, are playing hard rock, somewhat blues-influenced, somewhat punk-influenced, with some wild lead guitar and really good vocals. Van Dyk has a really good rock voice - kind of a slightly more upbeat version of Mark Lanegan - the kind of voice commonly referred to as "whiskey-soaked", I believe. It's good stuff and sounds (and looks) like they'd be a lot of fun live:



The band, formed in 2010, has been through a couple of incarnations, the constant being Pete on lead vocals and guitar. Currently, it features Pete, Ed Van Dyk on lead guitar, J.D. Norwood on bass and Scott Carruthers on drums.

Pete wants you to have this song for free, presumably as a taster of a forthcoming album.

New Power-Pop Discovery: The Almighty Rhombus - The Almighty Rhombus EP

The Almighty Rhombus is a Canadian power-pop group from Sudbury, Ontario, but they play music that makes you think of warmer places - or at least warmer times. This five-song self-titled EP is pure pop, catchy and very enjoyable. Here's "She Didn't Want Me" - a happy video full of sausages and face-plants to accompany a super-poppy song:






And here's "Even Though" - a little more upbeat, bouncier:

They've made the EP available for "name your price" at Bandcamp for the next few days, I'd advise grabbing a copy while the price is so reasonable. 

Here's another video for a song from a previous release, "Standoff" - love the interplay between the piano and the guitar riffs starting about 1:30 in:

The Almighty Rhombus on Facebook

New Discovery: Old English - Prose & Kahns

Over the course of the 12 songs that compose Prose And Kahns, Old English (Canadian artist Matt Henderson) weaves together elements of several strains of modern indie rock. There's dance rock (check out the beats in "We've Been Here Before"). There's introspective, moody electronic stuff (as in the soulful vocals, slowed-down pace and synths throughout "The Corrections"). There's straight-ahead singer/songwriter folk rock ("Pop Shop", at least until it soars off toward shoegaze territory in the last minute or so). And there's plenty of guitar - in front of and behind the beats, synths and understated vocals. The best part is, Henderson pulls all this together to make the album a journey worth taking.

You can check out a few songs for free at the Bandcamp site:

Here's "Pop Shop":

Prose And Kahns was released last week (Feb. 5). You can learn more at the Old English website, or the Old English page at the CBC.

SXSW Preview: Rah Rah

Several years ago, I was flipping through some channels on Sirius and stopped on one of the CBC stations, probably CBC 3, when I heard this wonderful song by a band called Rah Rah:



Always a sucker for bittersweet songs in 3/4 time, I was immediately hooked on "Duet for Emmylou and the Grievous Angel" and impressed with its simple and beautiful Neil Youngish elegance (hint:  Neil Young is God).

After a little investigation, I was surprised at how young Rah Rah seemed to be - a bunch of fresh faced kids from Regina, Saskatchewan - especially given the quality of the song.  Was this a fluke or the beginning of something special?  After following them for few years, including seeing their great set at the SXSW Canadian Blast in 2011, I am convinced that Rah Rah is worth cheering for (that was awful, but I'm leaving it in.)

Regardless of the general style of song (ranging from alt-country to Arcade Fire-esque modern indie rock), Rah Rah keeps churning out catchy tunes that stick with you long after the first listening.  Their most recent and third full length release,The Poet's Dead, was one of the hidden gems of 2012.  Check out the addictive "Art and a Wife" and "Prairie Girl" below.  Then, go see them when they come to your town (like at the Smiling Moose (Upstairs) in Pittsburgh) and at SXSW.



Rock!