Friendo

Just to prove that everyone and their mother have side projects these days we present to you Friendo, a Canadian trio featuring Mike Wallace from Women. Yep, dude’s band just got noticed by bloggers and he’s already out here hyping some new project. Good thing for Wallace and his fellow band members that they manage to do a solid job of mining the lo-fi aesthetic and mixing it with their own little twists, most notable the unsteady guitar riff playing through the whole track and the half spoken, half sung lyrics found on the tune. That gives this track it’s own personality and we happen to be enjoying what they’re doing with it. - http://poptartssucktoasted.com/

Friendo are a Canadian trio with Women's Mike Wallace as one of its members. The group put out their record Cold Toads originally as a self-released cassette, and St. Ives has picked it up for a limited vinyl run and digital release. "Counter/Time", the opening track on the record, rolls unsteadily on a clanging circular guitar riff and half-spoken vocals. - http://pitchfork.com//forkcast/13913-countertime/

It might be safe to assume that the Canadian trio Friendo got their name from an Anton Chigurh reference, especially seeing as how when you type “Friendo” into Google Images three-quarters of the results are of the floating, but still sexy, head of Javier Bardem, but not of this group of talented Calgarians. Their most popular song, “Callers,” even sounds like something that Anton Chigurh would be listening to as he ready the air pressure in his cattle-braining, door-knob annihilating, device.
Friendo describes themselves as,”…a three-piece, guitar-driven band largely inspired by ’90s experimental rock, ’70s punk, and ’60s pop,” but that doesn’t do any justice to the band’s actual aesthetic. On, “Young Fellows,” they channel the Velvet Underground that no one likes to listen to (and if someone does say that they love “The Gift,” check yourself because you’re in a snobby cocaine den). Comparisons have also been made to Panda Bear, but Friendo isn’t as produced or sunny. Friendo seem to feed from the seediness of basement music, while still crafting harmonies and layering their guitar work in an ear-catching way.
Sometime this spring, Friendo is due to release Cold Toads (Secretly Canadian), which up until now had only been available on tape, just like every other Canadian release.
Wait for the second, noisier, part of “Callers” to emerge from the lull. These second, more experimental, movements within the same song are something of a signature move with these secretive Canadians. - Seizure Chicken

Friendo is a three-piece band from Calgary, led by one of the dudes from Women, who were responsible for one of my favorite albums of 2008. Friendo creates songs that are lo-fi and guitar-driven, ranging anywhere from breezy, effortless jams, to pulse-pounding post-punk gems. The band recently put some of these songs to tape, using whatever recording equipment they could get their hands on, and titled the result Cold Toads. Through the St Ives label, run by the folks at Secretly Canadian, Friendo is releasing 200 limited edition, hand crafted vinyl albums of Cold Toads, which is also available on cassette and digital.
- Covert Curiosity, an Austin Music Blog

Today marks the start of Pop Explosion, so naturally a lot of our time and effort on the hill will be focused towards the influx of talent our city is seeing over the next 5 days. Chances are, if you are a music fan you are getting ready for the big Crystal Antlers show tonight – congrats to Joshua Crew for his most informative and inspired winning entry – but on the off chance you are killing time at work waiting until the shows start, here's a Calgary band you really need to check out.

I was sent a random tip about Friendo, and have to admit I wish I stumbled upon them myself. Basically, the poppy trio is the vessel for Women drummer Michael Wallace to get his voice heard and step out from behind the kit. Naturally, the songs are still lo-fi, but their debut tape shows a warmth and unexpected flair for melody. Counter/Time may start with an effective, low key drone, but it’s the playful, spacey shimmer and bouncing riff that fill out the outro groove of Counter/Time that lets the band sink their hooks into you.

Liner starts with the same basic building blocks, but it’s the warming fuzz the trio adds that makes the song purr. In an almost Ginsberg like way, they add an oddly beautiful shine to the gritty sound without ruining the simple, honest feel of the track, but even with the strength of the two opening jams my personal fav has to be Velvets inspired Callers. The beautiful, icy melody comes to life thanks to Nicole’s reverbed vocals. The 5-minute jam chugs along, refusing to stray too far from the simple riff that birthed it, heightening the mood with each passing note.

I know this is a three-song tape release, but it's fantastic. If this was 1993, I'd be letting the songs auto-reverse over and over again on the ole Walkmen (well, except when I needed my fix of Kid N' Play or EPMD). With the other commitments these guys have, I have no idea what is going to happen next for Friendo, but I'm 100% waiting impatiently for any new songs or shows. - Hero Hill Music Blog

Cold Toads lends itself beautifully to the cassette format. At times hazy and ethereal (as on best song on the album, "Callers"), other times recalling lo-fi pop from the '90s (either Beat Happening or damn near any band from New Zealand's Flying Nun, take your pick), Friendo have created a warm, familiar-yet-fresh recording. Features members of Women, Puberty, and Beija Flor, so you know they're up to snuff on the whole '90s indie rock thing. - Beatroute Magazine

Canadians Friendo capture so gracefully that hazy, other-worldly quasi-spiritual tone that made me so obsessed with Panda Bear’s Young Prayer at the time, elevated here by the contrast with the sparse rhythm section that reminds me somewhat of Slint in its foreboding guitar tones. They feature on the excellent UK compilation Oh Canada! (a brilliant song in itself which I used to need to sing in school everyday, followed by the principles ‘joke of the daily’ broadcast over the speaker system and always hilarious), which you can download here free of charge, and which features fellow Canadian greats such as Puberty, Babe Rainbow, Basketball and No Gold. I shall refrain from any more legal mumbo-jumbo and let this beautiful song speak for itself.
- http://dontdiewonderingmusic.tumblr.com/

Call this lovely slow-burner another fruit fallen from the season of summery Baeleric music, or just call it pretty and supple, that works too.

Friendo, a Calgary-based trio, have one cassette out on Bart Records, though these dreamy six minutes appeared in October on the sixth comp in the Oh! Canada series, which you can get here. You may also recognize the smoke-covered dude in the photo above as one of the members of Women, one of the best noise and psychedelic rock alchemists on either side of the 49th parallel.
- http://www.imposemagazine.com/bytes/friendo