Extra Life, Oil Giant, Output 1:1:1
EXTRA LIFE (https://extralife.bandcamp.com/album/the-sacred-vowel)
Long running NYC avant rock quartet led by the ever inquisitive composer / guitarist Charlie Looker returns to Toronto, and the live arena, after a 10 year hiatus. The band oscillates between brooding cinematic soundscapes and progressive flourishes laden with heaviness, featuring members of Kayo Dot and Secret Chiefs 3 among its crew of seasoned rippers. They land on the road behind their newest album "The Sacred Vowel"
OIL GIANT (https://oilgiant.bandcamp.com/album/new-territories-of-abandon)
Crushing Toronto noise rock quartet moves from ripping angular punk shredding to prodding heavy sludge-y riffage. Guitar feedback swells as repetitive chords grind into your mind. An assault of trebled notes cut through pummeling bass lines only to be buried in layers of dissonance. James Kearns' vocal malaise washes over these gnarled structures like a languid proclamation. Oil Giant are on a methodical rampage against a mundane world.
OUTPUT 1:1:1 (https://output111.bandcamp.com/)
Haunting avant-gothic songwriter Daniel Janvier’s trio featuring Gene Converse and Vic O (Not A Band) take tortured song structures imbibing them with industrial noise textures and clattering metal that mix with Janvier’s foreboding guitar work and ghostly vocals. Murky emotional music that feels akin to Nick Cave or even the more subdued late period Scott Walker outings. Vocals call out from beneath a pile of improvised noise scraps and discarded distortion.