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Here’s a link to the MySpace page of a band brought to my attention this week from the guys at theMusebox.com.
They asked me to post something about the group, who I heard and liked a lot, and who are currently touring into the summer. The group in question is Arietta, based in Toronto and pulling from various strains of rock music, most notably from modern progressive rock, yet with pop hooks in mind.
As such, the group covers the bases for those who are interested in tight playing, yet who are still interested in hearing songs, rather than extended jams, although fans get those too. This band is like an outpouring of a parallel universe, when it was prog, not punk, which was the prime motivator behind modern indie guitar music. Yet the showiness of prog which turns a lot of people off is absent. This
is big rock music. But, it doesn’t forget its audience.
The groups record, Migration is due out on April 28th.
Enjoy! - Delete Bin
Arietta are a 6 piece band hailing from Toronto, Canada. They are
essentially a straight out alternative rock band with overlapping hints
of pop genius. They may have a few more band members than your typical
rock group but there is no indication that there are too many people or
too many sounds. In other words, the music isn't lost in a muddled and
chaotic mess, it's fits into place very well.
Myself, living in Scotland, unsurprisingly know extremely little about
the Toronto music scene. However, what is surprising is how a young
band, thousands of miles away can produce something so good that it
makes me smile, thinking “this is the catchiest song I've heard all
year”. "Old Habits Die Young", the album opener is by far the best rock
song I have heard from any artist in 2009.
Fair enough, they have a catchy song, so what? It's an album after all,
what is the rest of the material like? Well, if I'm completely honest,
it's superb. When you walk around, hearing drips and drabs of
commercial radio when you're just quietly getting on with your daily
chores of life, you forget how many young and exciting bands are just
ignored, all over the world.
Arietta have some great diversity on this record, the songs aren't all
hard rockin' songs, there are a few slower gems such as "I'm Going
Overboard, I'm Taking My Final Bow'" However, when Arietta rock hard,
it's clear that this is where they are at their best. It's great to
listen to, it's fast and more importantly in this day and age, is the
pop hooks that are flying about pinging from ear to ear.
With all but two songs over 4 minutes long, these guys don't seem to be
too concerned about producing short and quick hit singles but just
focus on writing good songs, which is refreshing. The band are young,
but their music is more mature than you envisage it to be. The lyrics
are very good and above the level of similar bands and the instrument
playing is of a higher level than most in their genre.
Arietta, are young, fresh and exciting. Sure it's not a life changing
album nor is it completely different to anything you've heard before,
but it's still a very important record. Arietta are just one of the
many young bands out there, that aren't given enough coverage. I urge
you to help put an end to this and pick up Migration, Arietta's first long play, on April 28th. - Pure Grain
The verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus formula is tried, tested and true. But a few bands are able to break the mold while staying within these limitations. Toronto sextet Arietta's ability to draw from influences outside of the radio rock scene ultimately helps them overcome this obstacle.
Opener "Old Habits Die Young" is a kick-ass example of the band's capabilities. There's a riffy, Minus The Bear-esque verse that blends seamlessly into a catchy chorus that brings Fall Out Boy to mind, then eventually leads to a heavy mood-changing bridge.
"Northearned" further exemplifies the band's songwriting capabilities. Piano and catchy lead guitar lines are used as the selling points until the haunting acoustic bridge kicks in. And when you hear the friggin' organ solo on "They Sure Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To...," you know you've come across something special.
Arietta have come up with a sound that's both radio-friendly and unique — a triumph that shouldn't be taken lightly. Migration is filled with tracks that show off both songwriting skills and each member's proficiency at his instrument. These dudes deserve to get noticed, and it may not be long before they are. - Chart Magazine
Discography
Migration (LP, 2009)
Photos
Bio
“All at once, to everyone, to everything.”
What do you do when you've outgrown your teen angst? Where do you go when you’re forced to stop being mad at the world and start living in it? What comes after “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in your existential playlist? For all the bands screaming at kids out there, who speaks to the twenty-somethings who are just as desperate for a relatable voice?
Arietta might not have the answers, but they’re asking all the same questions. On their debut album, Migration, the band doesn’t attempt to solve the problems of post-adolescence, they simply address the situation. They are not the light at the end of the tunnel but rather the hand guiding you through it, with songs conveying the confidence and the confusion, the elation and the aggression, the candour and the warmth of today’s young adults.
“Is this what I’ve become when I’m driven to begin?” muses vocalist Tyler Johnston on the record’s lead track, “Old Habits Die Young,” questioning the work-all-day/party-all-night routine followed by so many young men and women. From here on, the songs on Migration systematically assess and deconstruct life in your twenties – from the apathetic frustration of “Home Friday Midnight,” to the inspirational closer, “We Were All Invincible At One Point.”
“The city’s gonna swallow up the best of me.”
The five-piece find themselves disenfranchised even in their hometown of Toronto due to their unique sound. Equal parts pop songwriting and technical musicianship, Arietta – consisting of Johnston, guitarists Sean Ramesbottom and Brian Craig, bassist Kyle Smith, and drummer Shehzaad Jiwani – are impossible to pigeon-hole, finding inspiration in everything from radio pop and film scores to free jazz and math rock.
In a city where older cliques monopolize every viable outlet, the quintet represents a younger generation of musicians bound not by genres or scenes but by mutual appreciation of innovative music. Though the band has helped forge a community with such disparate acts as Oh No Forest Fires, I Am Committing A Sin, Lost Cities and Ulysses And The Siren, the urge to branch outside the crowded city and blaze new trails permeates much of Migration’s lyrical content.
“Let’s all get away from holding ourselves down,” proclaims Johnston on “Northearned,” a driving, piano-led rocker that is as angst-ridden as it is melodic. As the record’s title implies, the sense of exploration and escape is palpable on Migration, and the music reflects this wanderlust. The band incorporates vastly different styles – jazzy brushes on “A Prolonged Sense Of Longing,” countrified lap-steel on “It’s An Uphill Battle And It’s All Downhill From Here,” sweeping violins on “...So I’m Going Overboard On Taking My Final Bow” – yet weaves them seamlessly into a cohesive sound that is distinctly Arietta.
“Discover what we left behind.”
The diverse array of bands Arietta has played with in support of Migration speaks to their versatility as well as their universal appeal. They won over fans after opening for Saddle Creek legends Cursive, got crowds singing along while sharing the stage with Simple Plan, The Junction, Plain White T’s and The Stereos, showed off their chops with Maps And Atlases, So Many Dynamos and Tera Melos, and held their own against the hardcore intensity of Polar Bear Club, Kingdoms and Titan. Each new listener finds something different to take away from their sound, with critics writing comparisons that run the gamut from Slint and Sunny Day Real Estate to Coldplay and Malajube.
As progressive as the band may be, Arietta harkens back to a time when music was more about songwriting and musicianship than ringtones and record sales. Their wilfully experimental tendencies bring to mind the great songwriters of old, but their brazen naivety represents youth in its purest form. It isn’t the solution to our problems, but with Migration, Arietta have provided the soundtrack for us to begin answering our own questions.
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