Saturday 28 December 2019

Bitter Fictions - Walker (2019)



After those two nice bits of Huevos content, here's a guitar hero of a completely different bent, the sonic wizardry of Devin Friesen and his Bitter Fictions. What can we say about Walker that we haven't said about Bitter Fictions before? Oh, there's some nice, delicate piano on "Forget It" (alongside the usual guitar noise/drone/syrup), which makes us think that Friesen's time in Montreal has served him well.

Wednesday 25 December 2019

Huevos Rancheros - John Peel Session (1995)


Well, we can't just leave you with one Huevos Rancheros-related gift this Christmas, can we? This one we CAN put a date on: in the spring of 1995, looks like our favourite trio hopped across the pond and recorded a session at BBC's Maida Vale Studios for the legendary John Peel.

While we don't get any ridiculous between-song banter with this set, we DO get a solid recording of six favourites, including their versions of the classics "Telstar" and "Rumble." While yesterday's CBC session reminded us of how much fun Huevos were, this set reminds us of how good AMAZING they were.

Merry Christmas!

Tuesday 24 December 2019

Huevos Rancheros - CBC Sessions


As an extra special (and early!) Christmas gift, we have this little gem that's been kicking around our offices for a few years: a set that local heroes Huevos Rancheros recorded for the CBC at some point (maybe around 1995? we this this might have been a RadioSonic session but have zero evidence to back that claim up).

The best part of this session isn't the amazing guitar/bass/drums work - it's the ridiculous between song banter. AND a rare (mostly) a capella track. Don't believe us? We wouldn't lie to you! This session reminds us how much fun Huevos were, and how much we miss them.

Happy holidays!

Monday 23 December 2019

Sunglaciers - Foreign Bodies (2019)




We're not sure how/why this has happened, but suddenly we're in the position of posting THREE tapes by a band in one year, and for once it's not a Craig Storm-related band. We had bought Sunglaciers' excellent new LP earlier this year, but they've just put it out on tape as well, and we're suckers for well-packaged things like this (silver metallic cassette! acetate insert for the j-card art!). Plus, as we may have mentioned, this album is quite excellent (don't believe us? CJSW has this pegged at #4 on their Best of 2019 list).

Each release from Sunglaciers sees them getting sharper and tighter, and this tape - the first with Helen Young on synth - is, uh, sharper and tighter still. This inhabits a happy space that's somewhere between power pop and shoegaze - "For What" is our pick for one of the best Calgary tracks of the year. But here's another sample from the album, opener "Through the Screen":



As of right now, only the LP or download are available from the Sunglaciers bandcamp; keep your eyes in your local record shops for the fancy cassette.

Sunday 22 December 2019

Rotten Crutch - Intrusive Behaviour (2019)


Sometimes you're at the Palomino, and someone (in this case, Dan Northfield) makes the universal symbol that they're about to throw something your way (which is always appreciated, speaking as people who have been clocked on the head by an unannounced "gift" one or two times in our lives), and suddenly you have a tape in your hands, and you have no idea what the tape is because you don't recognize the band, and you shrug and say, "okay, thanks Dan?"

Having listened to this tape, we can report that Rotten Crutch play a throaty, thrashy sort of punk that we imagine would fit in well at, say Vern's. They uphold the long-standing Calgary tradition of making sure there's a healthy dose of metal in their punk.

And you can get it from their bandcamp.

Monday 16 December 2019

Slut Prophet - Pity Party (2019)


We've been big fans of Audrey Nicsik and her ever-evolving Slut Prophet since we first saw them a few years ago. They've taken their time putting out their first tape, and it's a real treat. The opening track, "I've Been Waiting For This Moment" is amazing, and not just because it means we'll never be able to go to the dentist again without at least a little bit of discomfort. And as much as it's Slut Prophet's shorter bursts of angular, quirky punk that drew us is, it's the epic, 9-plus minute closing track, "Cyclops," that smashes us over the head and makes us true believers. Smart lyrics combined with quirky, well-executed arrangements - this is super good stuff.



Get if from the Slut Prophet bandcamp.

Sunday 15 December 2019

Purlicue - Dip N Dot (2019)



We're doing a bit of year-end cleaning here at the CCPS, and realized that we've been sitting on a few things... one of which is this posthumous (maybe?) tape from Purlicue. This tape seems a bit more serious than their first outing - but no less, uh, good. Probably what we like is that they keep these songs short and sweet - or bittersweet, like the excellent "Tangerine."

You can get this via the Purlicue bandcamp - or, as we've just discovered, via duplication.ca.