"May summer rain wash away for we are hymns of night..."

Reviews of Burn Planetarium and The Junction

Burn Planetarium - Burn Planetarium EP

Although I reviewed an album called Valse Mechanique last year by this little five piece from Guelph, Burn Planetarium are referring to this self titled EP as their actual debut and although the production quality has certainly improved, the ingredients are still pretty much the same. The songs are catchy, jangly, shouty blasts of power pop that are fun to bop around to, even if they fail to explore any really new ground. It's hard to listen without thinking of all of the other Canadian bands that they obviously use as reference points in their creative process. The "uh oh woah-oh" that kicks off the first song Young Chameleon has Born Ruffians written all over it, while the shout along moments and jumpy melodies of obvious hits like Death! Death! Death! are clearly patterned after the juvenilia of Tokyo Police Club. From some of the comments that they've made on their myspace page, it's clear that they're not trying to hide the fact that they like to wear their influences on their sleeves, and if a catchy song is all you're looking for, than this is a pretty decent place to start. There are a couple of moments wear the band shows that the chance of expanding beyond the hyper teenage ditty is not beyond the realms of possibility. One of these is Chimney Sweep, which slows the tempo down just a tad and showcases just a touch of well placed twang before leaping into a pretty standard sounding chorus. The other more promising moment is on the album's second bonus track, which is apparently titled We Shall Meet Our End (By Means Of A Boy And His Magnifying Glass). It's a witty little number that gives off a singalong by the campfire vibe that shows that the band does have the ability to trade in their teenage tomfoolery in for something a little bit more substantial when they really want to. As enjoyable as this EP is, it would be nice to see them ride out the inventiveness displayed on that last track a little bit more when it comes times to release a proper full length.

Myspace: Burn Planetarium
Download: Death! Death! Death! mp3


The Junction - Another Link In the Chain

Brampton's The Junction perform some very straight forward pop rock fare that would be pretty run of the mill if left in less capable hands. The fact is though, that although their latest release has a lot of "heard it before" moments, I still can't help but enjoy it quite a bit. I was having a conversation with someone at a show recently, when I mentioned that a certain artist that we both enjoy wasn't doing anything very inventive anymore. This is when my friend made the very valid point that if you're good at something, than why do you need to be inventive when you can just be good? That sums up The Junction perfectly. When it comes to catchy hooky indie pop, they're good. Very good. All you have to do is listen to the album's first single My Love Was There to realize just how true this statement is. And this praise for the power of a summertime pop song, doesn't mean that there aren't any moments of innovation. No Road boasts some pretty powerful horns during the song's coda. Miles In Denial borrows from brit-poppers like The Verve to create something a little more atmospheric. And if you listen carefully, you'll notice a slightly new wavy bass line and keyboard sound in Out Of Here. A major highlight of the album is the 70's AM radio sounding closer Hymns Of Night which contains a beautiful reflective melody that evokes all of the feelings of a starry summertime night.

Photo of The Junction by David Waldam

Myspace: The Junction
Download: My Love Was There mp3

Arietta and The Junction w/Serb Superb @ The Horseshoe

It's been almost a week and a half since I attended the show that I'm about to tell you about. Wow, I'm slipping! Actually it's been quite the hectic and stressful week so I have a good excuse, but that doesn't mean that remembering the details is going to be any easier. Thankfully, it was the type of show that possessed such an inordinate amount of power that I don't think that I could forget it even if I tried to.

It really has been a long time since I've attended a loud and aggressive, in-your-face, punky rock show. Truth is, for the most part, I've pretty much outgrown my harder edged leanings of the past. But every once in a while, a music lover needs to have his face rocked right off, and if you're gonna do it, then you may as well get it done by Arietta. As I had mentioned in my review of their album, Arietta is not just one of those bands who play loud music simply for the sake of being loud. There is a definite maturity in their sound, and that means that they are generally appreciated by mature fans which enabled me to take in this punk rock assault without literally being assaulted by an out of control audience. Their wickedly infectious songs are meant to be experienced live, and this band held back zero punches as they leaped and bounded across the stage with reckless abandon. Frontman Tyler Johnston is a pistol onstage, impossible to ignore, while the rhythm section is one of the tightest I've seen. It was cool to see Lowell Sostomi from Great Bloomers join the band onstage for a song. Finally, one has to give props to Shehzaad Jiwani, the drummer and undisputed backbone of the band. Although he remained in the relatively silent background, his hyperactive pounding of the skins was definitely the ingredient that firmly solidified the performance into creating an undeniable force of nature.

Photos: Arietta @ The Horseshoe on flickr
Myspace: Arietta

Although several other bands performed that night, the only other full set that I caught was from Brampton's The Junction. The band has been around for quite a bit longer than some of the other bands we see milling around the city, and their professionalism and experience is certainly apparent in their live show. The music boasts a pretty straightforward pop rock sound with melodic hooks and roaring choruses. I'm not sure if it's because they knew that Arietta was going to be melting our faces off later on or not, but they seemed to be cranking out a slightly harder edge than their recorded material would suggest. This made them the perfect complement for the evening lineup as they held their own with a top notch, solid rock performance.

Photos: The Junction @ The Horseshoe on flickr
Myspace: The Junction

The only other act I caught was the evening's master of ceremonies, Dinosaur Bones' Branko Scekic's altar ego, the kooky and schticky Serb Superb; doing more of that silly freestylin' rap thing that he does so well. Always entertaining.

Photos: Serb Superb @ The Horseshoe on flickr
Myspace: Serb Superb