Music
Press
This band has no press
Discography
The Constant Lover-2004
Dancing With Daggers-2005
Photos
Bio
Magneta Lane is Lexi Valentine, Nadia King, and French. Since forming in the fall of 2003 in their native North York, the three-piece has steadily evolved according to a musical vision that is mature, modern, and mischievously melodic. From 2004's brilliant debut The Constant Lover, through 2006's Dancing With Daggers, to this year's revelatory Gambling With God, these three young women have always displayed a poise and intuition that defies their age. Theirs is a band that strives for authenticity in an industry that is consistently
contrived. Self-assured without being too self-aware, they are an
antidote to the trashy tarts who pollute the airwaves with oversexed,
under-talented forays into mediocrity.
Since their humble, just-out-of-high-school beginnings, the band's
growth has been exponential. The first ill-fated gig happened in 2004
at a blue collar bar in the suburbs, where they were told to cut it
short because the factory guys had just got off shift. "They got all
pissed off," Lexi says. "Apparently we were too loud."
"But I still remember this one lady who said 'people won't appreciate
this around these parts � you have to go downtown.'"
Refusing to be discouraged, the band went downtown � and worked hard to refine their sound while developing a brash, confident songwriting style.
Accolades and attention soon followed. Gigs sold out. Magneta Lane was soon signed to Paper Bag Records and hit the road. In the ensuing years they've toured Canada , the U.S. , the U.K.,
and Japan, sharing the stage with Sloan, K-os, Controller
Controller, The Silversun Pickups, The Stills, Stellastar, amongst many other established names.
After the wide acclaim garnered by The Constant Lover, it was the
band's mix of steely determination and self-deprecation that proved an intoxicating mix for a Pop Matters critic, who referred to Lexi's
"tender toughness," in his review of Dancing With Daggers:
"A great deal of Magneta Lane's impact is down to the musical charism of their lead singer, Lexi Valentine. She takes Chrissie Hynde's sweetly sour alto and wraps it around Debbie Harry's blas� romanticism for an emotionally potent vocal style that conveys the same tender toughness as those two peerless women who came a generation before."
And now, independent, optimistic, and as focused as ever, Magneta Lane is back to work, recording their third album, Gambling With God, in Toronto with Jon Drew.
"It's about finding out exactly where you want to go and getting there
without stopping at nothing � but taking those things that matter
along the way," Lexi says, describing the new record. "It's also about
power, strength and heart and being honest with yourself. The sound
is hopeful, bright, and at peace with life's twists and turns."
Links