Illvis Freshly - Bombshells (Review)

Illvis Freshly - “Bombshells”

If you’re reading this from the West Coast of Canada, you may already be familiar with Victoria’s Illvis Freshly. If not, well then…you have some explaining to do. BC’s Freshest Exports have been making dance floors pop off for over 4 years – and with 2 albums firmly in the rear view mirror, the award winning group is hitting new highs with their third album Certified Fresh, dropping this Friday (June 1).

Straight out of the studio and into your earholes, the boys of Illvis are back with a brand new collection of tracks to bob your head to, and the album's first single, “Bombshells,” is everything you’ve grown to love about an Illvis Freshly track. Funky, crisp, clean…call it what you want, because when you know, you know. “Bombshells” is a certified head nodder. Click play and see for yourself!

This is the first track from our new album ‘Certified Fresh’. The full album will be available June 1st on all major platforms. As a thank you to our fans, we are making it available for FREE download. Like. Follow. Enjoi. ☺ For all inquires: illvisfreshly@gmail.com

Doesn’t the entire crew just sound better? Not that they ever slouched or sounded anything close to bad but the Illvis boys have taken their latest work to a whole new level. The funky guitar from the homie Phil in the back works so well with the powerful horn-stabs courtesy of Andrew Greenwood – there’s no denying the flow. And while Phil & Mt. Doyle bring the beats, Danimal & Doc Zoo’s vocals are as tight as they’ve ever been.

Thankfully the warm weather is finally showing its face – because “Bombshells” deserves its time with the windows down, and the volume up. I mean, it’s only the first track and I’m over here gushing like those fruit snacks we obsessed over as kids; you know…grapes.

Just when you thought Illvis couldn’t get any fresher, they go and add an extra cup of Downy and come out fresh as fuck. If you like the way “Bombshells” makes you feel all tingly inside, just wait til you hear Certified Fresh in its entirety! Stay woke and be ready for when this thing drops on Friday!           

                                                      - Shawn McNicoll

If you're in Victoria this Friday, celebrate the release of Certified Fresh at their Album Release Pizza Party at Lucky Bar! Or catch them later this month (Thurs. June 21) at Victoria Ska & Reggae Festival XIX.

Lucy Dacus - Historian (Review)

Lucy Dacus - Historian (Matador Records) 

For 47 tumultuous minutes on Historian, Lucy Dacus grapples with loss and change, from failed relationships (“Night Shift”), loss of religion (“Nonbeliever”), to struggling with how to move forward in the face of the inevitability of death (“Timefighter,” “Next of Kin”). Heady stuff, but Dacus' arrangements on these tracks make it all approachable, full of little flourishes, like a sudden horn sting on “Addictions,” or the tuneful guitar work at the beginning of “Timefighter.”

Despite the potentially heavy material, Dacus is always able to wring something approaching hope, even joy out of these subjects. Album opener Night Shift builds from quiet introspection about a final meeting with an ex to a barrage of fuzzy guitars and thudding drums, with Dacus belting out the lyrics, “In five years I hope these songs feel like covers/dedicated to new lovers”, perhaps reflecting a belief that love will return, even though that particular relationship ended badly. On “Next of Kin,” she argues that even the idea that there is much we'll never do in our brief time alive can be a source of solace: “Sweet relief, I will never be complete/I'll never know everything.”

And why shouldn't there be some hope amongst the messy, painful business of life? Or if not hope, then at least a little grace amidst the confusion. “Pillar of Truth,” a song about the death of Dacus' grandmother, allows the perspective to switch back and forth from Dacus to her grandmother, who wishes “Lord, have mercy/On my descendants/For they know not/What they do”. Clocking in at over seven minutes, the song arrives at a triumphant, horn-filled catharsis as Dacus sings, “If my throat can't sing/Then my soul screams out to you”.

Loss and change are inescapable parts of the whole experience of being alive, but as the album closes out with the title track's quiet meditation on relationships and their inevitable ends, it also seems to argue that taking the time to savour the moments in between is important. After all, it'll all be history someday.   
 

Pushing through rough circumstances and weighty expectations, Dacus and her band just followed up No Burden with the album Historian, a make-or-break album that's more than enough. Her voice, writing, and instrumentation feel rich and raw. During her first session in The Current's studio, Dacus says she knows her kind of success is rare.

SCRAM - Hundreds Of One (Review)

SCRAM - Hundreds of One

Hundreds of One, the latest EP from Vancouver rapper SCRAM, is a welcome, soulful little shot of west coast hip-hop. With such slick and shiny production, the EP sounds more intimate and warm that it has any right to. From the opening track and first single “Girl All Alone” with it's lilting, jazzy guitar chords, simple snare beat and pensive storyteller lyrics, Hundreds of One sets a high standard for its music. SCRAM's storytelling ability is on full display here, as he's on top form throughout, keeping pace with the first-rate beat creation. “Orchestrated” is a right proper boast track but with a spiralling sexy beat. “Dead Parade” is a showcase for SCRAM's technical talents as a rapper, rapid-fire and controlled as he goes in hard on, I dunno, society at large. The music is appropriately epic, even if it's a couple string samples away from being too heavy-handed. But, given the size and scope of the target, teetering on the brink of such weight serves the song well. “We raise our fists at politicians and their artifice, good luck, how far is it to Christy Clarke's address?” It's a small snippet on a track with a ton of quotable lines, but name-checking a more local politician on the track, rather than a larger profile/easier target, demonstrates a commitment to staying true to the area that informs his life while keeping an ear turned to the sounds outside to inform the beat side of things.

There's a classic boom-bap base to the beats throughout the record, highlighted by flourishes of live instruments, but the music tiptoes around the edges of electronic influences just enough to inject fresh energy into the sound. This juggling act is on full display in “The Weekend” as trance-like saxophones give way to a wonderful little glitch beat. It's one of the warmest sounding songs on the album,even as SCRAM raps about the all-encompassing feeling of the hopelessness of modern life that drives some people to make questionable decisions in the freedom of the weekend. The album closes with “Photobook,” the song on the EP you're most likely to drop the windows in the car for or walk a little quicker down the street to. It's a smooth driving ode to the power of looking back to where you came from, for inspiration and comfort. It's a welcome blast of sunny energy to help cleanse the palette after the contemplation and soul-searching that came before it. Hundreds of One is a helluva debut EP that'll work on your headphones or in your car. Enjoy it wherever you enjoy quality hip-hop.

Moontricks & BOUSADA @ Capital Ballroom (14.04.18)

Sometimes you go to a show expecting to chill hard. You go see an artist because it's going to be a cool night out and an opportunity to go dance and have a good time, but not necessarily rage. And sometimes you get to that show and it's just as chill as you expected but then, you get some a few unexpected tastes of the bass that makes you rage and it's extra-awesome because you didn't expect it. This past Saturday (April 14) at Capital Ballroom in Victoria, Moontricks delivered exactly that – an expectedly sultry, smooth and sexy set of bass and banjo (And guitar and harmonica) punctuated by forays into deep funk and beyond. Moontricks laid down a tremendous set of new and old tracks, to a packed house of seriously delighted people moving together, smiles plastered across every face in the room. This was (and is) serious bass without aggression – perfect for keeping the pulsing sea of humanity moving and in a good, chilled out mood. For such a large crowd in the Ballroom, this was a legit well-behaved crowd and it's a testament to the performers that everyone was bouncing so respectfully.

The old stuff (Like the sublime “Home,” which garnered the biggest pop of the night) was as warm and comforting as ever but it was the unexpected twists of new tracks that seemed to get the most bounce out of the sea of people. Most surprisingly, we were even treated to a little drum n' bass. Drum n' bass consistently challenges me and a Moontricks show was one of the last places I would expect to hear it, but oh man, that was some good, fun drum n' bass. Maybe it's old-hand to them, but I haven't seen it from these cats in the many, many times I've seen them play. Go see them live and experience this goodness. Please, for your ears' sake.

Things got going early with some luscious house-y beats from the homie Xavier, one of the pillars of Victoria's electronic community and BOUSADA, who is establishing himself as one of the city's musical pillars, able to move between genres and crowds with ease. Flanked by a guitar player, BOUSADA was as animated as ever, in all his shirtless glory, punctuating his beat-making and singing with loud cries of joy. A musical facilitator of the highest order, the last portion of his set saw BOUSADA giving the spotlight to a stream of some of Victoria's finest vocalists (Including Doc Zoo and Danimal House of Illvis Freshly, Kady and Stevie from Leg-Up Program and the mighty Orilla) taking turns rapping and singing over his tunes. It feels like BOUSADA has been building something special in Victoria and Saturday night was a reminder of why this guy is such a Force of Musical Community. A spectacular night of groove and bass. Well-done everyone.

Hip-Hop Thursday #3 - Pigeon Hole - INVASION EP

Okay, I know it's hip-hop Thursday and this would probably be considered more “bass music” or “dubstep” or something. I don't even know with the subgenres anymore. (I got into the electronic game too late and I don't care to figure it all out. I just want good music.) All I know is good hip-hop hits a certain place in my brain and Invasion hits that hard. This helps me indulge my love of hip-hop and satiate my thirst for bass.

A couple years ago, a little while after the release of their still-regularly-played-by-almost-everyone-I-know album Chimp Blood, I was watching Pigeon Hole smash up a stage while standing next to local hip-hop guru and Keeper of the Knowledge, Degree One. We were both head-nodding like crazy when he turned to me and said, “Man, I love these guys. Every time I see them they bring something new. Always new ideas.” I agreed and I continue to agree. Since then, seemingly without ever taking a break, Pigeon Hole has been relentless in driving forward, establishing themselves as a force in bass. That was a few years ago and the duo continues on that incredible arc with their latest anvil-heavy offering, Invasion EP. The homies go 3-for-3 here, each track devastatingly heavy but fantastically smooth in their devastation. Picking a favourite here seems arbitrary, but let's go with the title track, “INVASION.” I won't argue if you pick something different because you would also be right.

If you were going to hunt dinosaurs or some other large and terrifying creature, you couldn't find a more appropriate soundtrack than Invasion. Maybe you don't even wanna hunt the monsters. Maybe you just want to tame them to ride them or you're looking to toughen up with a simple fight against a majestic beast (Seriously, this shit makes me wanna suplex a lion). Like, you were in that TUROK game (Remember TUROK?) and you and your crew went out to have some battles then you all came back and celebrated with a forest rave. This is really fucking good party music that would be perfect for a deep forest rave. In fact, you should get familiar because you're probably going to hear the tracks from Invasion at every deep forest rave you do in fact attend this summer. Deep, dark hip-hop bass on that mega future shit that gets your head bobbing and your hips winding. [Sleeveless Records]

Thick with West Coast flavor and head-nodding basslines, Pigeon Hole delivers a monster mini EP that beautifully reflects the duo's hiphop roots and production prowess. PIGEON HOLE ++ www.soundcloud.com/pigeon_hole ++ ++ www.facebook.com/Pigeonholemusic ++ ++ www.twitter.com/PIGEON_HOLE ++ ++ www.instagram.com/pigeon_hole ++