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So, we\u2019re collecting jams from local artists both small and not-so-small and giving them a spin each month. Maybe you\u2019ll find your new favourite bop.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The four-piece led by Philly ex-pat Daniel Forrest makes music that\u2019s grungy and thrashy but also inherently catchy and melodic. The \u201990s influences are obvious\u2014think Alice in Chains and Weezer as a jumping-off point. But those comparisons don\u2019t fully do the band justice either. Buddie\u2019s third full-length, Glass<\/em>, opens with \u201cIn the Glass Shell\u201d, and Forrest doing his best Elliott Smith impression before the rest of the group joins him for a toe-tapping jam that has a lot to say about regrets and feeling scared of the world. The rest of the album continues that trend and dares you to not dance around while your brain absorbs thoughtful (and plenty sad) lyrics.<\/p>\n The cover for Elisa Thorn\u2019s xiik<\/em> features the harpist sitting in a bathtub filled with Canadian $20 bills. The title itself is a reference to how much the record cost to make ($12,000). And I think we can all be grateful that an indie artist is willing to put their credit rating on the line like that to create something. With xiik<\/em>, Thorn has done exactly that. The album is intoxicating both sonically and lyrically, as Thorn intersperses her dreamy vocals and lets Cupid\u2019s favourite instrument do the rest of the work until you feel like you\u2019re in a bathtub yourself.<\/p>\n Often Wrong\u2019s four-song The Figs Are Starting to Rot<\/em> EP is a hard-driving guitar-charged record that features lead singer Oscar McManus using the entire range of his deep voice. That includes some spoken word parts that work to great effect. \u201cSlipping Under\u201d is a dark, hazy, and turbo-charged Brand New-ish cry for help that is also just a lot of fun to bang your head to.<\/p>\n We regrettably missed Computer\u2019s debut album in last month\u2019s Van Jams, so we\u2019re profiling the band\u2019s October release, Station On The Hill<\/em>, here. Computer, a seven-piece band currently blowing up in Vancouver\u2019s indie scene, is hard to categorize as it hits on elements of Britpop, jazz, screamo, and really everything in between. The titual closer is arguably the band\u2019s strongest song on the record, drawing comparisons to the likes of Black Country, New Road as the nine-minute track takes the listener on a journey all its own.<\/p>\n Vancouver indie vet David Vertesi (Hey Ocean!) is going back to the well, re-recording his first solo album, Cardiography<\/em>, with an acoustic bent. This version doesn\u2019t have the indie pop and electronic flourishes of its predecessor, of course. What it does have is Vertesi laying himself out there for all to see. We get a much more raw version of the musician on this one\u2014the 15 years between the two versions adds a sense of desperation and knowing to the lyrics. Look no further than the ending of opening track \u201cMountainside\u201d\u2014on which Vertesi truly lets his voice (which is like a nice whisky\u2014rough around the edges but goes down smooth) stand alone.<\/p>\n Femme-fronted Scarlet Fever\u2019s live shows have established the quartet as a must-see at DIY venues across town, but it was fair to question whether the four-piece\u2019s lo-fi sound would translate well to an album. I\u2019m happy to say it absolutely does. The nine-song LP, which features two short instrumental interludes, draws a number of comparisons, all of them favourable. \u201cSms\u201d is a rollercoaster of emotionality that is still fun; \u201cIf U Want?\u201d rides a wave of dream rock toward the entire band coming together in a frenetic finale; and \u201cChange My Mind\u201d announces the band as one of the city\u2019s rising stars.<\/p>\n Sin\u00e9ad X Sanders\u2019 first album contains many of the power ballads she\u2019s become known around town for. Sanders is a bonafide performer and lets her big voice do the work on the Bob Dylan-esque \u201cNot Your Gal\u201d and the saloon-ready \u201cDogs in the Yard\u201d. The album also features two show-stopping covers: Talking Heads\u2019 \u201cRoad to Nowhere\u201d and a modern-ish take on the Supremes\u2019 \u201cLet Me Go the Right Way\u201d.<\/p>\n Man-about-town Rich Hope releases a collection of live performances at the beloved ANZA Club. If you\u2019ve ever sat in Hope\u2019s chair at Belmont Barbershop\u2014yes, that\u2019s his day gig\u2014you know that the man is an entertainer. And he\u2019s just as handy with a guitar as he is with a pair of scissors in his hands. The live album has Hope and co. running through some rollicking performances like the anthemic \u201cIt Come Alive\u201d and the rootin\u2019 tootin\u2019 \u201cWhip It On Ya\u201d. Like a session with Hope at Belmont, it\u2019s just fun.<\/p>\n Listen to the Van Jams playlist here:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n
You can\u2019t catch a bus in Vancouver without tripping over a struggling indie musician trying to figure out how to turn the pain in their soul into 10,000 Spotify streams and a record deal\u2026or even just a level of familiarity that means the Green Auto regulars are excited to see their name on the bill. We all start somewhere.<\/em><\/p>\nBuddie \u2014 Glass<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Elisa Thorn \u2014 xiik <\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Often Wrong \u2014 The Figs are Starting to Rot<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Computer \u2014 Station On The Hill<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n
David Vertesi \u2014 Cardiography (Acoustic 15th Anniversary)<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Scarlet Fever \u2014 Girl with Shank<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Sin\u00e9ad X Sanders \u2014 THEM SHADOWS<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Rich Hope \u2014 Live at the ANZA Club<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n