The Artful Vandelays (New local music find)

In an age where nearly every new idea has been reduced, reused and recycled, I tend to experience great boredom and faint hopes when it comes to searching for new talent in the local Toronto scene. Still, I look, listen and leave the lights on for anything of real value.

This faint hope has paid off again and though this new act doesn't break new musical ground, it certainly has captured my attention with smart & talented arrangements. Evidently, two of my favorite bands, Radiohead & The Mars Volta, decided to procreate. The result is an exciting hopeful for doing serious damage on the college radio scene.

Meet The Artful Vandelays.

This finding came by way of a random cold-call MySpace friending to my personal account directly from the band. No doubt they looked at my list of favorite artists for ten seconds and took an educated risk.

Good call. I procrastinated for a while on the 'add' and considered ignoring or denying it. Small miracle that when I tried to rebuff the add, MySpace decided to have its usual & infuriating loading issues. Thus the invite remained until I returned to it this morning. What I found was a very pleasant set of songs, each dynamic & carefully written to find that 'hook' without going overboard. Solid Indie Rock. Simply put.



They have no regular online or Facebook presence as of yet :( That said, I submit that your venture to the darkside Myspace will be well worth the visit if the page loads properly. Fortunately for The Artful Vandelays, they didn't blingify their page into I'm-Never-Gonna-Load oblivion. So it shouldn't be a problem.

Below, I have provided information on their next show. Support local music and come to this very inexpensive show with me.

The Artful Vandelays

Jun 5, 2008 9:00 PM
Lee's Palace - 529 Bloor St. W., Toronto, Ontario

Cost : $5

19+ show
9:15 set time

New post?! Music Review: EVIL TWIN CD Release party

Last Saturday, the girl & a friend and I went to the Evil Twin CD release party in the Annex. I'd tell you the name of the venue but I don't even want to give that establishment OR its management any kind of free press. They really don't deserve it. Evil Twin, on the other hand, seems to be a band that understands what it means to put the work in.

I've said it before. The draw of live performance in this over-saturated city continues to dwindle. Its disappointing to see such empty clubs for decent bands. Still, if nothing else, y'all are leaving these delightful findings all to myself. Thanks :) But keep in mind that if the shows you go to see are really lacking, then you need to find better bands. They're out there amid the chaos trying to vie for your attention and if you do love the live rock, than you really missed out last Saturday.

Evil Twin's set began 2 minutes prior to the end of my pool game and D & I hastily finished so that we could catch the action. The band opened with Ghost - their first track from their self titled debut album and one of my favorites. Out of the gate this band is tight and from that alone, its clear that great lengths were carefully spent getting the timing just right. Guitars in sweet harmony and synchronization raced across my senses and pushing behind them were the thundering rhythms - a brand of metal, despite so many, that can only be described as Evil Twin's signature style.



This stellar energy that the foursome shared and fed off of each other carried through the whole set and really livened up the otherwise sparse crowd. To do it for the love of music is what consistently makes a good show and Evil Twin delivers for their own satisfaction as well as the fans. It shows.

Support local music - buy the debut album.

EVIL TWIN website