T.O. Titans: Bands to Chase in 2010 (Part 1)
Nostalgia is a wonderful thing, but we’ve got year-end list fatigue. This is a new decade and a fresh slate for the 416, so rather than recounting 2009, we’re looking ahead at local bands likely to make some noise in 2010. But we haven’t done it alone. We’ve enlisted the help of local industry folk to cull a list of twenty local acts – indie, metal, electronica, folk, pop and everything in between - to get excited about over the next 12 months. Today we bring you Part 1 of our list (in no particular order), followed by Part 2 and 3 in the coming days. And if that isn’t enough, we’ll be posting each expert’s list in full – insightful commentary included. It all starts now.
DIAMOND RINGS
There are few musicians in Toronto – or anywhere for that matter – that caused as much buzz in 2009 with as little recorded material as Diamond Rings. The glammed-up pseudonym of erstwhile D’Urbervilles frontman John O’Regan, Diamond Rings’ infectious pop hit “All Yr Songs” and its low-budget hip hop referencing video not only raised the mercury of Pitchfork’s Best New Music hipster thermometer, but also caused a minor controversy for O’Regan and director Colin Medley when Sony Music removed it from YouTube for a supposed “copyright infringement” that turned out to be an elaborate misunderstanding. It surely made a stir, but as The Singing Lamb’s Melody Lau claims “the video and the song are only a little sneak peek into the spectacle that’s to come.” And, with 7”, a music video, a full-length debut Diamond Rings album and a new D’Urbervilles album, you can expect to see plenty of John O’Regan in 2010.
URBAN BLIGHT
Keeping eastern-US ’80s hardcore alive, UB are one of a handful of Toronto bands backed by the prolific producer Jonah Falco (drummer in Fucked Up, guitarist in Career Suicide). The ban d has been around a few years but “2009 marked the year Urban Blight went from being a part-time hobby to a force to be reckoned with on-stage – and local punks noticed,” says punk promoter Mark Pesci.. Vocalist Michael Huntington tells us the UB will be hitting the studio to record with Falco for a 5-track 7″ for summer release on Static Shock Records (UK.) They also have a live cassette coming out on Drone Errant (US noise/experimental label). They plan to hit up the US with a short midwest tour this summer, then proceed with invading the UK and mainland Europe.
KRUPKE
With only a handful of songs and a few shows under their belt, Krupke still have a ways to go before they’re firmly on anyone’s radar. But with an unclassifiable sound that has at times been described as “nouveau tech rock,” “post-genre-core,” and “avant-garde theatre pop,” they’re in a good position to, at the very least, turn a few heads. Xylophone, clarinet, violin and cobbled-together non-instruments aren’t the typical tools of indie rock, but according to Bob Battams of It’s Not The Band I Hate, It’s Their Fans “this is not a case of a bunch of amateurs banging on pots and pans and proclaiming it art. These are multi-talented instrumentalists indeed,” he continues, “and I think that, although a bit of an adjustment period may be in order for the average listener, their ambitious nature may be just enough to win people over.” The band is already slated to play Canadian Music Week, so it may come sooner rather than later.
THE BALCONIES
photo - Ben Welland
“Guitar-driven pop-rock never goes out of style,” says Frank Yang of Chromewaves. “Especially when it’s as catchy and assured as [The Balconies].” We agree. 2009 was a big year for the self-assured power-trio, not only releasing an album “bursting with catchy melodies, dynamic vocals and a maturity that some bands on their third or fourth album strive to achieve,” as Melody Lau puts it, but also moving from Ottawa to Toronto and proceeding to play support for every local indie band. As the hype continues to spread and singer-guitarist Jacquie Neville’s already-stellar stage presence continues to improve, it’s only a matter of time before they start headlining.
SYLVUS
Who knew anything this dark could come out of Hogtown? Sylvus take from early ’80s lo-fi original black metal, Bathory styles, with gothic keys (and possibly lead guitarist Anastasia) adding a bit of feminity. “One of Toronto’s most promising Black Metal bands,” says Matt of CHRY’s the Red Switch. “Sylvus has informed The Red Switch their next album in 2010 will be their heaviest, most atmospheric, and most “black metal” release by far. After losing (two) members, the band is now focusing on the writing process, but that’ll hardly slow down the Sylvus train. Look out for them or you’ll get run over.”
PICK A PIPER
With members of Caribou, Tenth of May and Winter Equinox making up their roster, it’s no surprise that percussion is the order of the day for Pick A Piper. On record, the band comes across as dancy psych-pop, but in a live setting the dreamy psychedelic melodies take a backseat to the thunderous mile-a-minute double drum set up, creating an experience that plays more like a tribal ceremony than a dance party. This is a live performance that truly has to be experienced and is sure to win over a few more followers with every show played.
PICK A PIPER – Rooms (filmed in Iceland and Canada) from Brad Weber on Vimeo.
ULTRAGAMMA
Christian Andersen, 23, repping Scarborough, is a producer of bubbling, fresh beats, coming from the new school of electronica which blankets many forms of what is called Bass music. He combines dubstep (under moniker XI), hip hop, and texturey, Bullion-eque, LA ‘wonk’ experimental tunes (under moniker Ultragamma). His cut “Stars Collapse” has received attention on beat bible Resident Advisor via FaltyDL’s podcast, and the new year will see him open for 6blocc at Circa and UK dubstep heavyweight Rusko at Sound Academy. “In the next 3 months alone I have four vinyls lined up for international release (on Immerse Recordings out of Bristol, UK, Surface Tension out of New York, NY, Formant Recordings out of Austin, TX, and Surefire Sound out of San Francisco, CA)” he tells us. He is unsigned, and if his support set for bass God Bassnectar this past fall alongside local up-and-comers Ill Gates and Egyptrixx was any indication, we’ll see a lot more of this bloat in the coming years. Check out his choice mixtape here on our city’s beat port Curb Crawlers.
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nice! why the minilogues vid for Krupke? is this a mistake or am i missing the connection?
Oops, my mistake. Fixed. Thanks Jen!
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