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by JOHNSON CUMMINS
 It’s getting harder and harder to keep up with all the releases gushing out of Montreal right now. There are probably more independent labels here than anywhere else in Canada, not to mention the explosion of vanity and bedroom labels, CDR releases and tape labels. Here are some killer local releases that deserve your immediate attention:
The Great Sabatini Sad Parade of Yesterdays (independent)
I’ve made no bones in previous columns that these misanthropic, metallic noiseniks are my favourite local band. If you dig the dementia of the Melvins, the crushing ballast of Unsane, the teeth-gnashing intensity of Today Is the Day and the panorama of Neurosis, the Great Sabatini is your new favourite band too. This new disc is easily their loudest moment yet, challenging and hammering the listener every step of the way while hitting precisely. It is beyond me that this band isn’t massive yet, but Sad Parade of Yesterdays could change all of that. Absolutely nothing here for the metal myopics or the hardcore elite, but fans of Southern Lord’s, 20 Buck Spin’s and Hydra Head’s rosters should dive right in. CD launch with Squalor, Samsara, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman and Hey Sugar! at Katacombes on Saturday, Nov. 28
Sonic Avenues self-titled (Going Gaga)
Good pop-driven punk is getting harder to find than a woman at a Rush concert, but these melodic punks take equal parts Buzzcocks, Teenage Head, Real Kids, Exploding Hearts, current Jay Reatard and Flamin’ Groovies and amp it all up with sparkling results. Guitars glisten while vocal harmonies soar, and infectious songwriting makes this half hour of glimmering power pop well worth the dig. CD launch with the Walnut Kids, Mother’s Children and DJ Mlle Bacon at Divan Orange on Friday, Nov. 27
Metalian Wasteland EP (independent)
With a surge in popularity—stemming from bands like Municipal Waste and Toxic Holocaust—turning kids onto metal’s initial late-’70s/early-’80s blasts, the time is perfectly ripe for these East Coast transplants. Metalian hardly hide the fact that what floats their boat is NWOBHM’s galloping bass, Bay Area thrash guitar and a falsetto vocal that could make even Rob Halford and King Diamond blush. This seven-song EP just further proves that Metalian is easily one of the best metal bands in the city. With Beehler and Orodruin at Katacombes on Saturday, Dec. 5
Whiskey Trench Television (Kiss of Death)
More melodic punk rawk à la Kraut, Social Distortion, Stiff Little Fingers, Moving Targets and Leatherface, with their cover of the Nils’ “In Betweens” fitting perfectly into this set of 14 blasters. While Whiskey Trench keep things snotty as hell with gruff, Jake Burns-esque vocals leading the charge, these guitar slingers know how to deliver the goods on a chorus, with perfectly paced verses leading up. Fans of locals like the Sainte Catherines, the dearly departed Nils and Jerk Appeal, take special note here.
EVERYBODY WANG CHUNG TONIGHT…
JONATHAN.CUMMINS@GMAIL.COM |
