Shoot out the lights, and stone the roses—there’s some strong autobiography going on between the lines of The Matinée’s debut full-length album, We Swore We’d See the Sunrise.  Produced largely by Grammy-winner Steve Berlin (REM, The Tragically Hip, Los Lobos) and recorded in their hometown of Vancouver, this honest collection of songs reveals a band throwing everything they have into a record they’re treating like a milestone.  The album also features 2 tracks recorded with Steve Bays (Hot Hot Heat), including the lead single ‘Young & Lazy’. And while the Tom Petty-esque rocker is a warm tribute to idle youth, the song’s lyrics also describe the strong bond that has carried these five long-time friends all the way through to this, the key moment in their career. After years of roadwork and growth, playing everywhere from prisons to air force bases and every watering hole in between, The Matinée has found its niche ploughing the middle ground between rural festivals and the urban hipster ground-zero of your choice. With an explosive live show that has been described as “an uproar of stomping, clapping, and blazing chops,” The Matinée are in the rare position of being welcome at both.

‘We Swore We’d See the Sunrise’ comes out today, February 26, 2013, on Light Organ Records

Purchase physical copies HERE
Purchase on iTunes HERE

As previously reported, the 12-song set has the quartet “fashioning a fresh set of tunes from obscure melodies and charming riffs culled from a half century of peculiar pop perfection.” This includes the ’50s AM sweeper “Sister Rose,” the jug-band ballad “LA,” and the Revolver-era Beatles approach to psych-pop stomp “Airliner Man.”

The Shilohs play a record release show at Vancouver’s Anza Club on February 15. The band might have some new tunes in store for you too, having started work on a new album at Vancouver’s Mushroom Studios in December.

PURHCASE ON iTUNES HERE: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/so-wild/id594958256

Album Cover & Media Materials: http://killbeatmusic.com/thematinee/

Taking its title from a line in the song “L’Absinthe”— the true story of a night of madness and delirium experienced while on tour in Quebec told between bouts of sparkling down-country guitar work from Matt Rose—what we hear is a band whose five members have known each other since high school, throwing everything they have into a record they’re treating like a milestone.

And the work was hard. Emboldened by their third place win in the 2011 Peak Performance Project and the subsequent record deal that followed, The Matinée ducked in and out of different studios, experimented, and generally strove—because they could— to be as great as possible for the year or so they spent working on this much-anticipated release.

It all started to gel with Steve Berlin. With REM and The Tragically Hip in his past, it was no surprise when the veteran producer turned out to be a strikingly good fit for the band. His native feel for Americana with a nice fat backbeat—supplied in spades by bassist Mike Young— is right there in the southern rock redux of “Sweetwater” and “Let Her Go”, which recall countless roots-rockers from Ryan Adams to The Sadies.

But Berlin and band were both eager to colour outside the lines. The starlit “December Slumber” is like a widescreen sonic painting with pedal steel guitar, while “The Road” is a stadium built anthem that plows the middle ground between rural festivals and the urban hipster ground-zero of your choice. With a live show generally known to be an uproar of stomping, clapping, and blazing chops, The Matinée are in the rare position of being welcome at both.

Meanwhile, “Long Way Home” throws different time signatures into its chunky country-rock frame, “Who Stoned The Roses” allows guitarist/back up vocalist Geoff Petrie to highlight the bands attention to harmony, and “Gasoline”—a churning rocker built on a cannonade of Bonham-esque heaviosity from drummer Pete Lemon—takes the listener even further into the outer reaches.

If the seven Berlin-produced tracks find The Matinée exploring the studio and finding new depth, the two they drummed up in lightning sessions with Hot Hot Heat’s Steve Bays have an almost leavening effect. In particular, “This Town” is an impossibly bright slab of baroque pop with a middle section that could have been smuggled in from Abbey Road. And “Young & Lazy”, as the band well knows—it’s the first single—is an instant classic; three-and-a-half minutes of Tom Petty-esque radio rock in the classic mold, given a light and summery touch by the band and fashioned to stick to the roof of your brain after one listen.

The song’s lyrics are a warm tribute to idle youth, and the bond that has carried The Matinée all the way through to this, the key moment in their career. According to vocalist/lyricist Matt Layzell, We Swore We’d See the Sunrise is their “coming out”; after years of roadwork and growth, playing everywhere from prisons to air force bases and every watering hole in between, it’s a record that simultaneously matches their explosive live show while advancing their craft by orders of magnitude.

The Matinée Tour Dates:

Dec 01 – Toronto, ON @ The Horseshoe Tavern
Dec 05 – Waterloo, ON @ Maxwell’s
Dec 06 – Barrie, ON @ The Mansion
Dec 07 – Toronto, ON @ The Dakota Tavern ( 7:00PM )
Dec 08 – Kingston, ON @ Mansion
Dec 15 – Vancouver, BC @ The Venue with Headwater

More Info:

http://thematineemusic.com/

http://lightorganrecords.com/

Today marks the release of the sophomore effort from Vancouver’s The Zolas.

Ancient Mars trades in the cabaret glitz of Tic Toc Tic for blissed-out pianos and thick, unyielding beats. The Zolas’ tumultuous songwriting captures the zeitgeist of being in your 20′s, on the cusp of youth and real adulthood.

From the sunny guitar riffs blasting into the perfect summer jam to bouncy and nostalgic heaping spoonfuls of Brooklyn avant-pop, Ancient Mars is set to deliver both the complexity and urbanity of what The Zolas are bringing to the table. When all is said and done, The Zolas are writing pops song with the intention of fucking them completely up!

Dobrzanski generally serves as producer, having worked with names in indie-rock royalty like Said the Whale and We Are The City, but for Ancient Mars the band when outside for production duties, calling in Chuck Brody (Phantogram, Wu-Tang) to helm the new album.

Purchase now:
ON ITUNES: http://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/ancient-mars/id564073357

PHYSICAL: http://www.simkinartistmanagement.com/store/artists/zolas

“We wrote this song about the doomed relationships among us and our group of friends,” says singer Zachary Gray.

“When you’re low on the seesaw you look up at the other up there in the sun and you’re just glad to be playing; when you’re high on the seesaw you’re dazzled by all the other people in the playground and forget whose weight is lifting you. Then it switches continually ’til you both get sick and someone jumps off. This song is what it’s like to fall out of love.”

Stream the song via Spinner, here: http://www.spinner.ca/2012/08/24/the-zolas-knot-in-my-heart-stream/

The 9-song effort from Yukon Blonde bassist Andy Bishop is available in a variety of formats, including digital download, custom designed & manufactured digipak CD, and a beautiful gatefold, 12″ white vinyl.

If you’re keen to take a listen before you buy, you can check out the exclusive full album stream, courtesy of Exclaim!, here: http://exclaim.ca/MusicVideo/ClickHear/white_ash_falls-by_river_bend_album_stream

To purchase the record on iTunes, you can click here:

http://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/by-the-river-bend/id556304120

The debut record from White Ash Falls, By The River Bend, will be released on September 4th, but you can stream the first single “I Can’t Get Tomorrow” now -

http://exclaim.ca/News/white_ash_falls_sign_to_light_organ_records_for_debut_album_premiere_new_single

“To me, the most impressive songwriter is one who is able to communicate a life story within 3 minutes.” A bold, but very accurate statement made by Courtney Ewan, who co-fronts the Vancouver-based indie folk band, Twin River, alongside Andy Bishop. Veterans of the local music community in Vancouver, the pair moonlight in solo and other projects, such as Red Cedar, Yukon Blonde, Slim Fathers and White Ash Falls. Though Twin River originated as a duo, it’s now a full band, rounded out by the likes of Rebecca Gray (Chains of Love), Malcolm Jack (Sun Wizard/Capitol 6), and Dustin Bromley (Pleasure Cruise, Keep Tidy). Instantly, a listener will notice their penchant for juxtaposing haunting, expressive music with pretty, even up-beat melody. Bishop’s ability to seamlessly combine the heavy riff into simple folk structures is his signature. The smooth and innocent vocal delivery plays well against the more ominous musical backdrop. This sound will no doubt become their trademark as they make their initial impressions in Vancouver and across Canada. Their new 4-song EP, Rough Gold, recorded with Malcolm Jack from Sun Wizard, captures this unique brand of folk quite beautifully. At its heart, the music they make is humble, honest, and organic, as evidenced by the support they have already received from their local music community. Having already opened for artists like Daniel, Fred & Julie amongst others, it will not be long before Twin River’s name becomes a staple of the Vancouver independent music scene.

Track Listing:
01. Can’t Keep This Alive
02. Feather
03. Jangler
04. Family Tree

TOUR DATES:
June 15 – Vancouver, BC – China Cloud (Twin River Album Release)
June 16 – Kelowna, BC – Fernando’s
June 17 – Penticton, BC – Voodoo’s
June 20- 24 – Calgary, AB – Sled Island
June 25 – Lethbridge, AB – The Slice (w/ Elliott Brood)
June 26 – Regina, SK – The Artful Dodger
June 28 – Edmonton, AB – New City
June 30 – Vancouver, BC – Princeton Pub (Capitol 6 Album Release)

MORE INFO: http://exclaim.ca/News/capitol_6_announce_canadian_tour_with_twin_river

Twin River is co-fronted by veterans of the local music community, Courtney Ewan and Andy Bishop, who moonlight in solo and other projects, such as Red Cedar, Yukon Blonde, Slim Fathers and White Ash Falls. Though Twin River originated as a duo, it’s now a full band, rounded out by the likes of Rebecca Gray (Chains of Love), Malcolm Jack (Sun Wizard and Capitol 6), and Dustin Bromley (Pleasure Cruise, Keep Tidy). Instantly, a listener will notice their penchant for juxtaposing haunting, expressive music with pretty, even up-beat melody. Bishop’s ability to seamlessly combine the heavy riff into simple folk structures is his signature. The smooth and innocent vocal delivery plays well against the more ominous musical backdrop. This sound will no doubt become their trademark as they make their initial impressions in Vancouver and across Canada.

Their 4 song EP Rough Gold will be available online and in stores July 10th, via Outside Music.