featured releases
(Absolutely Kosher) CD & LP
Ryan Beattie returns with his feverish falsetto amidst a palette of melodic inclines and coagulating crescendos. Portrayed as a palpable endeavour of the island in autumn, the record resurrects elements from both Kau’ai and Fight Against Darkness, whilst burning elements anew. Bittersweet, effervescent, and conjuring stylistic permutations of emotive self and environment; Chet strike a ruminating chord that shines like a beam of wavering light.
6 October 2009 by Tara Campbell
| Local, Pop / Rock
CD
Here is where Aaron Bergunder side-steps his band (Colourbook) for the dance floor. Reigning under the moniker Dreamboat, his synth pop anthems grab from the Pet Shop Boys uber-pop to the Junior Boys ethereal mood. Carried by the hedonistic flurry of the sex-surged night life of some metropolis floating in a distant bubble in the sky, this music is as sleek as glass – and hopefully the pre-cursor to an equally strong full length.
8 September 2009 by Tara Campbell
| Electronic, Local, Pop / Rock
Rifflandia 2009 is shaping up & to say the least, WE ARE STOKED. Last year was a totally awesome experience; Black Mountain, Man Man, Walkmen, Tagaq, Z-Trip, the list goes on & on…
This year, the lineup has come together nicely; Tegan & Sara, Buck 65, Beach House, Longwalkshortdock, Basia Bulat, Holy Fuck among others, with some new venues as well (Market Square!).
So here’s our rundown of the lineup, with little write-ups to clue you in, and where appropriate, we’ve got tunes or videos playing as well.
Part 1: The Big Shots
Part 2: Introducing…
Part 3: The Local Yokels
8 June 2009 by Chris Long
| Local
(Supreme Echo) LP
Legendary Victoria hardcore/punk/thrash outfit that bore the first musical exploits of one Stephen McBean of Black Mountain/Pink Mountaintops/Jerk With A Bomb fame. Early rough recordings capture these then-teens doing what some say they did best. A Victoria time capsule & a must for anyone who picked up last year’s amazing book All Your Ears Can Hear.
Listen here...
1 March 2009 by Chris Long
| Local
(Aaargh!) CD
Victoria’s best kept secret… the music of Elephant Island is a fragile swarm of melodic melancholia, a thing of sighing beauty. A musical arc of emotional depth, Don’t Say You Don’t Know… ventures through themes of hope, desire & doubt, all channeled through the aching, wandering falsetto of singer Galen Hartley. Accordion, cello, trumpet, saxophone, upright bass & mellotron all shape the sound, shaking up the arrangements a bit from the standard fair. An album for fans of mature, sincere indie pop a la Will Oldham & Shearwater.
Listen here...
13 February 2009 by Jeremy Robinson
| Local, Pop / Rock
(Soft Abuse) CD
Solo outing from Carey Mercer of Frog Eyes & Swan Lake. It is an idiosyncratic alliance of experimental rock, avant pop & gospel celebration. Skin Of Evil sits along nicely not just with the usual art-rock proponents but the later epic opuses of Scott Walker as well. Mercer’s vocal histrionics are framed with deeper production sensibilities, a marriage of the usual guitar approach with synthetic textures & arrangements. A nice extra-curricular endeavor from one of Victoria’s finest.
Listen here...
13 February 2009 by Jeremy Robinson
| Local, Pop / Rock
(Leisure Thief) CD
Essentially a revisit of Lee Huztulak’s last ten years of musical meandering and collaboration; Scarlet Lake collects tracks recorded and manipulated both digitally and on a 4-track. At times profusely reminiscent of Akron/Family’s self-titled debut (a group to which he warmly tips his hat), the vocals teeter somewhere between Mark Lanegan & Ariel Pink, while the music treads the sublime line between discordant experimentation & graceful melodies. Many of the tracks were born here in Victoria (Huztulak’s past home) & sound of the time when summer slips into fall & the island air seems to return from alien to indigenous. Like the mood encapsulated by Grizzly Bear, Scarlet Lake seems to capture the transition from one season to another & the melancholy & euphoria that comes with it.
Listen here...
2 September 2008 by Tara Campbell
| Local, Pop / Rock
(Old Life) CD
A genuine article of note within the confines of our fun little shanty town here on Vancouver Island! Old Life Records is a meshed web of some of Victoria’s most promising new-ish groups. Swapping roles, instruments, vocal duties, styles, vibes, clothes & hi-fives, the Old Life camp inevitably recall Broken Social Scene’s tendril-like sprawl of indie-rock & some of it’s fun cousins. Label big guns Dreamboat, Colourbook, Cobras Cobras Cobras & Balacade feature here (all in fine form), but Vol. 2 also illuminates the talents of (relative) newcomers Onaping Falls, The Macadamia Brothers, Blanck, Mount Royal & Almonds, Cohen. Quiet folky ballads, twee-pop, dancey electro, laptop ditties & good ol’ rockin racket all appear here. We’re excited to hear what this collective produces over the next little while.
PS – the comp is only $3.00!
Listen here...
1 July 2008 by Chris Long
| Local, Pop / Rock
These folks are from ‘round ‘ere. The local presence at Rifflandia was strong last year & the same goes for this year’s lineup. A lot of new faces & a couple of returning faves. Get out there & support yer pals!
Listen here...
26 July 2007 by Chris Long
| Local
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These are the “names” at this year’s festival… a great mash of bands, styles & faces.
Listen here...
25 July 2007 by Chris Long
| Local
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