PASTEL BLANK
Pastel Blank revolves around the songs and voice of songwriter Angus Watt. It is brought to life by an ever-shifting cast of musicians and recurring collaborators from Montréal, Vancouver, and Victoria, and exists somewhere between a “solo” project and a band.
Pastel Blank cloaks experimentation in pop-minded song structure; the sheen and gloss of a disco ball glints off the edges of sharp, angular post-punk sensibilities. The groove is a morse code stutter; there is funkiness, but it is tempered by a wide-eyed
nervousness, as if the songs themselves aren’t sure what will happen next. The result is a warped fun house mirror of referentialism; a collage of sounds that are at once familiar and yet also slightly alien in their combination.
Their debut LP, Unmade In Minutes (via Paper Bag Records) was produced by Connor Head and Angus Watt, and mixed by Austin Tufts (BRAIDS). The album expands upon the guitar driven lo-fi indie rock of their first EP, Pastel Blanc, incorporating thick layers of percussion, woozy synthesizers, oddball samples, and flurries of saxophone and flute. The result is a polished set of genre-blending songs that embrace maximalist cubist chaos while staying locked in to the central tenet of groove: a key component of Pastel Blank's incendiary live show.
This time around, the songs are more pointed, their tone more sardonic, revolving
around ideas of self-control and agency in a world where our neurological control boards are being bid on by bad-faith actors. In Radiator, things are heating up and our level of free will is questioned; in Dopamine, attention is held captive by our dark relationship with our screens, profit is weighed out against human life in Shareholder, and the more that stress compounds, the stronger the craving for sweet, sweet nicotine. Fiction questions if we really know ourselves anymore, or if our memories are just arranged into he story we’d like to believe. In Big Man, the façade of masculinity is ailing; no longer can anger be the only vessel for expressing all other emotions. Do we make ourselves, or are we made into the driver of our very own automotive vehicle, driving on lab-rat freeways?
Pastel Blank offers an opportunity for catharsis: today’s anxieties become tonight’s
reason to dance. This transfer of energy is necessary to alleviate the woes of
watching the world stage as funding for the arts predictably gets slashed again.
Recorded at Catalogue Studios in Victoria, the goal for the album sessions was to capture the sweaty buzz of Pastel Blank’s live show. The songs were largely written in isolation and brought in as "sketchy LEGO structures”; demos with guitars, bass, vocals, and keys sketched out by Watt, and then sent to Oliver Hollingshead, whose unique drumming brought the songs a step closer to existence. At the time of recording, Pastel Blank had recently started playing live as a six-piece, intersecting with collaborator Hanum Yoon-Henderson’s deep love of all-things percussion, which left an indelible mark on both the album and future live shows, as he recorded layer after layer of percussive elements such as, congas, woodblock, cowbell, shakers, tambourine, castanets, and beyond. Eric Kilian’s whooshing synth filter sweeps colour in between the spaces of angular guitar and bass interplay, while Luvy Vishek’s ethereal vocals balance out the percussive yelp of Watt.
This is dance music for people who don’t know how to dance.
NORA KELLY BAND
Nora Kelly Band channels their rebellious spirit with So Wrong For So Long, their second studio album that continues to push the boundaries of pop and alternative country. The band reimagines their sound by incorporating a wide range of instruments, including banjo, pedal steel, French horns, and rock guitar leads, resulting in a lush, cinematic sound that is both intricate and chaotic. Produced by Montreal-based Marcus Paquin (The National, Arcade Fire), the album’s boisterous sound and emotional charge are anchored by Kelly’s spunky, twang-infused vocals, which soar above the noise.
How does toughness differ from strength? And when does it become the antithesis of vulnerability? Lyrically, So Wrong For So Long dives deep into themes of strength, vulnerability, and self-sabotage. Known for her theatrical flair, Kelly uses role-playing and vivid character work to confront traditional masculine archetypes in country music, drawing influence from legendary figures like Johnny Cash and Townes Van Zandt. Through this approach, she challenges expectations of what a protagonist can and should be. Boldly gracing the album cover with a Popeye-style bicep and face tattoos, Kelly subverts masculine tropes and firmly asserts a woman’s place in the outlaw tradition of country music.
The album marks a turning point for the band, which has undergone a lineup shift that saw one member depart and two new members join. With a deeper sense of creative trust and camaraderie, the group crafted an 11-track record that Kelly describes as “like one band making a driving playlist, there’s something in there for everyone.”
NKB has toured extensively across Canada and the US, and shared stages with artists such as Yves Jarvis, Kiwi Jr., Gus Englehorn, Fleece, Model Actriz, Eliza Niemi, and PACKS, among others. So Wrong For So Long will be released on May 21st via Mint Records.
For physical events that happen at a specific time. For example a concert, or dance performance. If there are multiple shows, you can still duplicate your event to cover them all.
In-Person Event
Fri. June 12th + Add to Calendar
The Coda
6:30pm - 8:30pm Doors at: 6:00pm
$15.00
