Progressive Rock Reviews
Progressive Rock Reviews
ANGLOCANADIEN |
seems only yesterday that Tom Patrol was forfeiting their bass player, Farzana Fiaz, to angloCanadien, a British-Canadian four-piece poised to steal the Pixies throne. So what, you say? Is it another progressive-ambient rock band trying to make a notch in the "indie world"? Need we another "art-rock" band? Well, if we're talking of angloCanadien...yes, as a matter of fact, we do. With so much trouble in the music world today -- between the surgence of the boy-toy bands, the dot-matrix copies of Third Eye Blind, and the Puff Daddy-fication of every credible song of the past half-century -- we need a band that sticks to their guitars and plays with their hearts. angloCanadien made their first showing with Everything is A, a four-track LP that -- you guessed it -- alliterated the letter "A" with pure rock, such as in Aggro(the live version being far superior to the studio version), and trippy drone-happy loll a la Arab Gannet. They crack the indie 'zine world, appearing in In Music We Trust and State of the Rock World. Then they open 1999 by playing London's Bull and Gate and Dublin Castle, showing their strength and unity as a band, strutting their stuff with all the cocksure confidence of ten sets of Backstreet Boys and all the raw talent of ten Nirvanas. The web page hits just keep on coming 'til they get their own domain name. As if that wasn't enough, the multi-talented computer-whiz Tom Moreton and Co. round themselves up for another two songs, Space Folk and Japanese Water Garden, for their second LP Drew(a tribute to a pub bloke instrumental to this band's very existence -- the akasha, if you like, to the elemental angloCanadien). They ship a copy across the Atlantic to California DJ Don Campeau, who plays the former track on his No Pigeonholes radio show, which is rebroadcast in shortwave on Radio Marabu in Europe. Japanese Water Garden, meanwhile, earns the band a comparison to Pink Floyd and the Cure. Not to be outdone, they catch the eye of the British fanzine Unpeeled, who give them a rave review. They schedule another show at the Bull and Gate. They play Space Folk and Japanese Water Garden to a gaggle of 6-12 year old British children, frightening them in a way Marilyn Manson never could. Yet, despite this wave of attention that most upstart bands would give their firstborn for, angloCanadien have lost neither their dignity nor their level-headedness. Tom Moreton is a charming English gentleman, as expressive in his email as he is onstage. Marnie Ford, the humble drummer(and the "Canadian" in angloCanadien), gets stronger and more confident with each track, displaying a skin-wizadry that would make spiritual father Keith Moon proud. The previously mentioned Farzana Fiaz plays a better bass guitar than most, giving the collective "boys club" of bass players a square kick in the crotch. Kevin Narranien, formerly of Olivia Honey, is a one-man band capable of playing the accordian, the triangle, and both the rhythm and the bass guitar(yes, but can he play the theremin?? Can he?? Huh? Huh?), all with equal aplomb. Major labels, take notice. angloCanadien is here. We will storm the castle if we have to. In the meantime, for six joyous pieces of progressive music, check out the angloCanadien website -- at http://www.angloCanadien.com-- and plunk down the change you find in between the cushions of your couch. An investment well made. Review by Bernadette tenel_ka@sprynet.com |