Thursday 09.20.07: O’DEATH
“O’Death is more life than anything else, though the songwriting of Greg Jamie and Gabe Darling takes a more contemplative approach to back-alley country that gets freaky with folk and makes a collage of sound that sparkles like the prettiest knife. Jamie’s voice squeaks as a deranged mystics would, Pycior, bassist Grabby, drummer David Rodgers-Berry and banjo player Gabe Darling play as if possession has already occurred and their bodies aren’t being controlled by anyone except the dark spirits and their minions. They’re possessed and soon enough, there you are too, sweaty with lunacy. Jamie sings about human hearts that are filled with bats, as he chews past his dark brown beard like a billy goat. The band is full of authentic lightning and thunder clapping, dripping with a seediness that can only come from deep within. What they do cannot be cribbed or learned, but innate. For those of us who tend to our mundane lives as if there’s no other option, O’Death graciously present an alternative to clean living and sweet dreams. Their heavens piercing wails could cause turbulence for all the airplanes soaring up in the friendly skies and turn the unflappables pale as death with fear.” - Daytrotter
with:
Rock Plaza Central || Listen
Rock Plaza Central is an endearingly different sort of buzz band. Prior to all the unexpected acclaim and success following the self-release of their breakthrough record Are We Not Horses? in late 2006, the band had gone largely unnoticed outside their hometown of Toronto for several years. Sheltered from any attention, they unassumingly eased their way into something spectacular. Inspired by an elaborate conceit and sustained with evocative lyrics and powerful instrumentation, Are We Not Horses? is an outstanding fusion of alt-country earnestness and indie rock absurdity. Without any trace of flaunt or deliberateness, this homespun epic proves as casual in tone as it is ambitious in scope. - Popmatters
plus:
I Make This Sound || Listen
8:30pm / $8 / 18+
