B-
70%
Alexisonfire
Crisis
Distort
All of the MuchMusic appearances and side projects have paid off for a band who once played shows in sleazy basement bars, and wrapped their first recordings in test papers. Alexisonfire’s third studio recording, Crisis, was met with impressive sales that boosted the album to number one in Canada.
The first single from the album, “This Could be Anywhere in the World,” is more of an anthem, which opens with a screaming and indecipherable George Pettit. The chorus of very Alexisonfire-esque riffs is layered with Green singing “The city / the city is haunted by ghosts from broken homes.” The album is full of darkly-themed songs, including “You Burn First” which features a guest appearance from singer Gared O’Donnell of Planes Mistaken for Stars.
Crisis finds Alexisonfire departing from the sound of unadulterated screaming that made them famous. Following the success of Dallas Green’s solo album Sometimes, the guitarist and singer for the band has more of a presence on Crisis. Maybe Pettit is realizing the long-term effects that his intense screaming has on his vocal chords, or maybe the band is decidedly taking their sound to a wider audience. Or perhaps Alexisonfire is just coming into their own. Whatever the case, Alexisonfire’s newest album sounds like an attempt to be more accessible.
—Lauren Raham
A+
95%
The Dears
Gang of Losers
MapleMusic
In the three years since The Dears’ last album, No Cities Left, the band graced us with the live record Thank You Good Night Sold Out. During that time, some of the have been busy becoming a family: lead singer Murray Lightburn and keyboardist Natalia Yanchak were married last fall, and have since had a child together.
Their new album, Gang of Losers, is full of the towering melodies and distinctive lyrics that can be found on most Dears’ records. However, given the events since their last release, Gang of Losers is more mature, written from a perspective not heard on their former albums. Themes of isolation surface on songs like “Hate Then Love” and “Bandwagoneers”, with lyrics like “We are feeling so alone / We are feeling so erroneously unknown.” Lightburn separates himself from his well-known “black Morrissey” image in Part Two of the album: he’s a dad now, and his songwriting reflects a need to find a solution amid the angst of his troubled lyrics. Part Two of Gang of Losers starts with a ballad “You and I are a Gang of Losers,” that suggests love is the answer, with lyrics like “You and I are on the outside of almost everything / ’Cause we, we got the same heart.”
Although it may take a few listens to really get this record, it will prove to be worth it. The Dears have hit a new level with Gang of Losers. Their always-brilliant songwriting has been met with maturity and grace.
—Lauren Raham
A
85%
Shout Out Out Out Out
Not Saying / Just Saying
NRMLS WLCM/Six Shooter
If Milton from Office Space listened to music on headphones at work, he might have played kick drum under his desk to Not Saying / Just Saying. Dance music with a wicked sense of humour—or just a lot of issues—this Edmonton six-piece fill songs about perfectionism and anxiety with cowbell and soak all their vocals in vocoder, as if reclaiming Cher’s “Believe” on behalf of endless self-doubt. It might reek of novelty if the music wasn’t so ruthlessly executed and relentlessly catchy—from the big flatulent synth beeps and multi-tracked, cruising bass line of opener “Forever Indebted,” it’s clear that Shout Out Out Out Out aren’t messing around. In “Procrastinator’s Fight Song,” Nik Kozub frets “I get distracted sometimes when I’ve got too much on my plate / And I know I use my time badly, I’ve gotta pull it together” over stuttering beats and a warm blanket of synthesizers only a few degrees removed from Eric Prydz’s “Call On Me.” But Kozub proves he’s not just a wet blanket on the bubbling, joyful “Dude You Feel Electrical.” Elsewhere, the band takes on Minus The Bear in the cheeky song title department with “Chicken Soup for the Fuck You,” “Your Shitty Record Won’t Mix Itself,” and “Inspiration > Competition.” It might be true that “Self-Loathing Rulz” after all: low self-esteem rarely sounded so funky.
— Meghan Harrison
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Shout Out Out Out Out play the Ale House with Holy Fuck and Land of Talk on Wednesday. Doors open at 9 p.m.
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