Gold & Youth

To throw out a catalogue of songs and start over with a different band name and an entirely new sound takes guts, but to do so while signed to one of the most prestigious record labels in Canada takes a hunger pain best satisfied by a bold change of direction. Fortunately for Gold & Youth, the Vancouver-based quartet that did just that, when it comes to playing on the dramatic, they’re total gluttons.

Start with the sounds on their upcoming debut LP, Beyond Wilderness: dark, winding synthscapes skimming seductively close to the borders of Lynchian black comedy, with ’80s-style programmed drums and vast electronic textures. Within glossy moments of breezier synth chords and flirty guitar, a looming mystery pervades. The owls are not what they seem.

Now consider the back-story. Jeff Mitchelmore, Matt Lyall, and Murray Mckenzie first signed to renowned Toronto-based label Arts & Crafts as the Racoons, an indie-rock “jam space band,” as lead vocalist/synths/guitarist Lyall says, packed with Wolf Parade flavoured electronics and a reputation for recklessly fun live shows. With an EP titled Islomania and national touring experience behind them, the Racoons’ burgeoning success surprised nobody more than the members of the band itself.

“It was a pretty conscious decision to start fresh because the Racoons was a band that was just about playing music with friends, and it got slightly more successful than we had ever planned,” says Lyall during a conversation with BeatRoute at a coffee shop in East Van, alongside drummer Mitchelmore and multi-instrumentalist Louise Burns, who joined Gold & Youth last year as a permanent player.

“We were really fortunate to get the opportunity to sit back and say, ‘OK, we can either continue on this path that we’re on, or we can try to do something that we can be proud of 10 years from now,’” adds Mitchelmore.

With support and ongoing dialogue with Arts & Crafts, the guys got to work.

“Technically, we learned how to make our own music,” says Lyall. “We got a lot better at making and recording our own music, which gave us the skills to make music that maybe we hadn’t seen as possible before because none of us were super computer savvy, up until when we decided to force ourselves to learn how to do it.”

They emerged with an ambitious new sound, which caught the attention of music blogs and publications like NME and The Guardian months before their 7-inch (‘Time To Kill/City of Quartz’) hit the streets last fall.

“It was refreshing because we kind of disappeared for a while but I think we were getting bored with what we were doing. Maybe not bored, but we wanted to change,” says Mitchelmore.

“We started learning and almost went back to school. It opened so many doors and got us excited again.”

Their sharpened skill sets prepared them to bring new ideas to full form. Some of these ideas made their way onto Beyond Wilderness, a deliberate and evocative wayward sibling in the Arts & Crafts family, which counts Feist, Broken Social Scene, and Jason Collett amongst others at its dinner table.

Unlike many of their label mates, Gold & Youth doesn’t cater to the rural, outdoorsy manifestation of Canadian identity; the one defined by acoustic strums, gang vocals, and wistful choruses about mountains and prairie pastures.

NW2Beyond Wilderness strives to go beyond that.

“There’s nothing wrong with the Canadian identity informing the music scene, but it’s sort of defining it now and I don’t personally relate to that very much,” says Lyall.

“I find it really odd that Canadians in general are fairly passive people and not overly nationalist, maybe with the exception of goofy stuff like hockey, but for the most part with music today, there seems to be a subversive patriotism that’s defined by your love of open spaces and highways.”

“Everyone’s got a road song,” Burns adds.

Any roads lining Beyond Wilderness are dusky Los Angeles boulevards and slick city thoroughfares.

“It’s an urban album,” Lyall says. Layers of electronic effects on tracks like ‘Jewel’ and ‘Come to Admire’ throb with the pulse of neon-lit metropolis at two in the morning, as though wrought from the twenty-third storey balcony on a gaudy high-rise hotel. Given that much of the album was written and recorded remotely, with band members sending demos back and forth to each other from distant locations, this interpretation is not too far off.

“I wrote ‘Jewel’ in Toronto and then sent it to the guys,” says Burns. “For ‘Come to Admire’, Matt sent me a track and I sang some stuff over it. We work on our own, really.”

“Everything we do is very compartmentalized, which is great because it makes it easy for us all to go off and do our own things and still be creative,” Lyall adds.

Indeed, while Gold & Youth remains their focus, the band thrives on having the flexibility to pursue other musical interests. Mckenzie, guitarist for Gold & Youth, is currentl - Sarah Bauer, Beatroute Magazine (Cover Issue)

It’s a rainy Sunday evening and the members of Vancouver electronic outfit Gold & Youth are sitting in Gastown’s antique-looking Six Acres bar preparing for their debut LP Beyond Wilderness listening party. As Matt Lyall, Murray Mckenzie, and Louise Burns set up for the private event—drummer Jeff Mitchelmore is on his way back from a trip to Palm Springs—they debate about what exactly a listening party entails. Are they going to blast the record and make people listen? Point out all the best bass lines and shush their guests?

Obviously not.

Mckenzie suggests they just play it on a loop in the background and let people drink. The whole concept of the event feels very, well, mature.

“We are old now,” Lyall says. “That’s all. We got our mortgages paid off.” He laughs.

“Sent the kids to college,” adds Burns, smiling.

In a way, Gold & Youth is a weirdly mature band for a group of 20-somethings. They have all been around the block, woven through the music industry and then some, none more than Burns. The bassist is a seasoned pop veteran, having grown up on MTV and MuchMusic with her previous band Lillix before charting a high-profile solo career.

Gold & Youth began as the Raccoons, a garage-rock outfit with Lyall, Mckenzie, Mitchelmore, and two other men. Born in the Victoria basement of Mckenzie’s parents, the group nearly got a break after videos from a tour it did in China were sent back to the influential Canadian indie label Arts & Crafts. The feedback was positive and the band was offered a deal. Although the Raccoons disbanded not long after that, Arts & Crafts remained supportive.

“They were like, “Well, if you guys decide to do anything else…” explains Lyall. “I don’t know why they let us do that.”

The Raccoons had a full batch of material written, but soon scrapped the songs. “We were insanely frustrated with what we were doing,” admits Mckenzie.

“We were down to three members,” says Lyall. “We needed to fill out our sound, so we started making cheap electronic noises, and we kind of liked it.”

The three changed the band’s name with the sound, eventually settling on Gold & Youth, and added Burns, whom they had all played with before. Lyall admits that moving toward the electronic genre made them all feel like rookies, but it felt good.

“None of us are very strong electronic artists,” he says. “Our record does not sound like it was made by fucking Justice or something. It still sounds like the work of people who are figuring out what to do.”

Recorded with Colin Stewart (Black Mountain, New Pornographers) and mixed by Gareth Jones (Depeche Mode, Interpol, Grizzly Bear), Beyond Wilderness is gothic, airy, and mysteriously heavy in all the right places. It jumps between hooky pop loops and drawn-out synth clouds, all the while retaining the feel of a calming soundtrack to a cinematic credit roll. “Young Blood” and “Little Wild Love” feel like straight-up ’80s dance tracks, while “Come to Admire” and the first single “Jewel” (both written by Burns) are ethereal and slightly playful. At its core, Beyond Wilderness is a record about feeling out of place.

“It’s named after a book about Canadian identity and art, about how the wilderness mythology dominates Canadian artistic integrity,” Murray says, explaining the album’s title. “We were thinking about parallels about being a Vancouver band today and while also being urban people. It’s about feeling like you don’t fit in.”

Even “Jewel” is about not belonging.

“It is sort of toying with the idea of vulnerability and displacement,” Burns said. “I moved to Toronto and I felt confused, divided, and it’s kind of about that.”

She wrote the song in Toronto, but sent sound files back and forth with her bandmates for months before she considered it finished. After moving back to Vancouver, she recorded the final vocal tracks. Even though Gold & Youth’s members are now all living in the same city, they still prefer to write as though they are spread out across the country.

“We don’t jam,” Lyall says. “We write compartmentalized. We write the songs like electronic music, and of course it is partly, but it’s not.”

Burns credits the Apple recording program Logic Pro with shaping the album, noting that it makes it easy for band members to work on songs without having to meet up. “God forbid that we have to sit in the same room together and work out a song,” she says. “It’s just more efficient.”

“It’s a very cold way of making music,” adds Lyall, who is responsible for most of Gold & Youth’s primary production. “It’s very unromantic, but it works for us.”

Riding high on glowing reviews from both the Guardian and NME—you heard it here first: Gold & Youth is going to be big in Britain—the band is ready to start touring again. Eastern shows have been booked for June, including NXNE in Toronto and Field Trip, the Arts & Crafts label’s 10th-anniversary party.

“We are hungry to to - Mish Way, The Georgia Straight, Vancouver BC

It’s a rainy Sunday evening and the members of Vancouver electronic outfit Gold & Youth are sitting in Gastown’s antique-looking Six Acres bar preparing for their debut LP Beyond Wilderness listening party. As Matt Lyall, Murray Mckenzie, and Louise Burns set up for the private event—drummer Jeff Mitchelmore is on his way back from a trip to Palm Springs—they debate about what exactly a listening party entails. Are they going to blast the record and make people listen? Point out all the best bass lines and shush their guests?

Obviously not.

Mckenzie suggests they just play it on a loop in the background and let people drink. The whole concept of the event feels very, well, mature.

“We are old now,” Lyall says. “That’s all. We got our mortgages paid off.” He laughs.

“Sent the kids to college,” adds Burns, smiling.

In a way, Gold & Youth is a weirdly mature band for a group of 20-somethings. They have all been around the block, woven through the music industry and then some, none more than Burns. The bassist is a seasoned pop veteran, having grown up on MTV and MuchMusic with her previous band Lillix before charting a high-profile solo career.

Gold & Youth began as the Raccoons, a garage-rock outfit with Lyall, Mckenzie, Mitchelmore, and two other men. Born in the Victoria basement of Mckenzie’s parents, the group nearly got a break after videos from a tour it did in China were sent back to the influential Canadian indie label Arts & Crafts. The feedback was positive and the band was offered a deal. Although the Raccoons disbanded not long after that, Arts & Crafts remained supportive.

“They were like, “Well, if you guys decide to do anything else…” explains Lyall. “I don’t know why they let us do that.”

The Raccoons had a full batch of material written, but soon scrapped the songs. “We were insanely frustrated with what we were doing,” admits Mckenzie.

“We were down to three members,” says Lyall. “We needed to fill out our sound, so we started making cheap electronic noises, and we kind of liked it.”

The three changed the band’s name with the sound, eventually settling on Gold & Youth, and added Burns, whom they had all played with before. Lyall admits that moving toward the electronic genre made them all feel like rookies, but it felt good.

“None of us are very strong electronic artists,” he says. “Our record does not sound like it was made by fucking Justice or something. It still sounds like the work of people who are figuring out what to do.”

Recorded with Colin Stewart (Black Mountain, New Pornographers) and mixed by Gareth Jones (Depeche Mode, Interpol, Grizzly Bear), Beyond Wilderness is gothic, airy, and mysteriously heavy in all the right places. It jumps between hooky pop loops and drawn-out synth clouds, all the while retaining the feel of a calming soundtrack to a cinematic credit roll. “Young Blood” and “Little Wild Love” feel like straight-up ’80s dance tracks, while “Come to Admire” and the first single “Jewel” (both written by Burns) are ethereal and slightly playful. At its core, Beyond Wilderness is a record about feeling out of place.

“It’s named after a book about Canadian identity and art, about how the wilderness mythology dominates Canadian artistic integrity,” Murray says, explaining the album’s title. “We were thinking about parallels about being a Vancouver band today and while also being urban people. It’s about feeling like you don’t fit in.”

Even “Jewel” is about not belonging.

“It is sort of toying with the idea of vulnerability and displacement,” Burns said. “I moved to Toronto and I felt confused, divided, and it’s kind of about that.”

She wrote the song in Toronto, but sent sound files back and forth with her bandmates for months before she considered it finished. After moving back to Vancouver, she recorded the final vocal tracks. Even though Gold & Youth’s members are now all living in the same city, they still prefer to write as though they are spread out across the country.

“We don’t jam,” Lyall says. “We write compartmentalized. We write the songs like electronic music, and of course it is partly, but it’s not.”

Burns credits the Apple recording program Logic Pro with shaping the album, noting that it makes it easy for band members to work on songs without having to meet up. “God forbid that we have to sit in the same room together and work out a song,” she says. “It’s just more efficient.”

“It’s a very cold way of making music,” adds Lyall, who is responsible for most of Gold & Youth’s primary production. “It’s very unromantic, but it works for us.”

Riding high on glowing reviews from both the Guardian and NME—you heard it here first: Gold & Youth is going to be big in Britain—the band is ready to start touring again. Eastern shows have been booked for June, including NXNE in Toronto and Field Trip, the Arts & Crafts label’s 10th-anniversary party.

“We are hungry to to - Mish Way, The Georgia Straight, Vancouver BC

“This is a record of glimmering synth-pop pearls doused in puritanical production. Heartening melodic flourishes drive much of the focus, with the intricate fretwork of “Daylight Colours” highlighting a flare or Johnny Marr-inspired indie pop zips. The echoing cathedral sonics of “Come to Admire” and the multi-layered beats of “Young Blood” imply meatier ambitions yet to be realized.” - Billy Hamilton, Under the Radar Magazine

From acoustic folk to world music, indie rock to electronica and cult heroes to bright new talent, Cat Sarsfield presents the Bazaar edit on the contemporary music scene. This week she speaks to new Vancouver band Gold & Youth, about the Canadian music scene, their influences and artists they love

Who: Matthew Lyall, Louise Burns, Murray Mckenzie, Jeff Mitchelmore

What: Warm, electro-pop sounds

Why: With hints of indie-rock which lie behind strong electro-synth sounds and folk-tinged vocals (courtesy of Louise Burns ethereal voice) Gold & Youth subscribe to a new school of music. Hailing from Vancouver and Toronto, this foursome are one of many bands to have emerged from the ever-expanding Canadian music scene.

"The sheer distance between Canada’s major urban centres is a major limitation for Canadian bands, particularly for ones like us that aren’t working with the folk rock or Canadiana that resonates in many of the smaller towns. In its isolation, Vancouver has developed an unmistakable musical style that pairs well with laid-back west coast lifestyles. In many ways, Gold & Youth is a reaction to that. It's our attempt to explore darker moods; to take a more urban, international outlook; and to find different points of reference in different threads of music history."

Having received significant critical acclaim in the UK, it seems that Gold & Youth are more a band of the British Eighties generation than of Vancouver's eclectic music scene. "Most of our favourite artists – Joy Division, New Order, Depeche Mode, Kate Bush, The Smiths, and less-obvious ones like John Foxx, Japan, Killing Joke – are British, so it seems like a natural place to focus our attention. And there’s something about the darker and colder aspects of our music that resonates uniquely well there. Our limited touring experience there so far has been positive. It’s an audience we really connect with. And really, there’s nowhere in which we’d be more honoured to succeed."

Parallels have been drawn between Gold & Youth and Depeche Mode, which although resonates with a few tracks on the album, doesn't necessarily ring true for the band as a whole. "Not many people would miss the colder, more synthetic side of 1980s post-punk as a key point of reference for our music. Depeche Mode is the band we’re associated with most often in the press, to the neglect of the warmer, more organic textures we use that you won’t get from them. We’ve tried to invest our music with some glamour as well, along the lines of Bryan Ferry and Avalon-era Roxy Music."



Their debut album, Beyond Wilderness, certainly showcases these British influences. A collection of reverberant and cinematic electro tracks, it is in equal parts familiar yet atypical. Jewel is the definitive Eighties-inspired track, reminiscent of early Madonna combined with The Cure-esque melodies and Depeche Mode synths. Tan Lines is a more laid-back, relaxed track, with its jaunted, catchy bass and guitar riffs and echoing vocal friezes. City of Quartz, perhaps the most memorable song on the record, takes advantage of their techno-electro roots, and is most reminiscent of The National's darker melodies.



For Gold & Youth, their musical journey is informed by imagery, locale and emotions. "There are a few different ideas that guide what we do. We spend a lot of time considering how our visual presentation – performance, video, fashion – pairs with the sounds we’re using, in terms of warmth or darkness for example."

There is a certain darkness in their lyrical edge, which is offset by ambiguous melodies - it's unusual yet refreshing that you are kept wondering whether their songs are supposed to leave you feeling pensive, joyous or out of sorts. Their songwriting process "involves a lot of discussion about imageries." The album has a very aesthetic, image-based feel and that was clearly important when shaping and developing the record for them: "On Beyond Wilderness, [the songs] tend to be informed by place and geography: many of our songs are meant to evoke moods and nostalgia we associate with places dear to us. For Matt, our song City of Quartz is a reflection on his childhood in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. But in terms of music, it’s meant to evoke the cinematic haze of Los Angeles."

Despite their varied influences, they are ultimately supportive of the Canadian music scene, citing artists hailing from their native homeland such as Dirty Beaches, No Joy, Diana and White Poppy, as bands they admire. "And anyone who likes our music – and especially anyone who likes Joy Division – needs to listen to Mode Moderne, from Vancouver." - Harper's Bazaar UK

From acoustic folk to world music, indie rock to electronica and cult heroes to bright new talent, Cat Sarsfield presents the Bazaar edit on the contemporary music scene. This week she speaks to new Vancouver band Gold & Youth, about the Canadian music scene, their influences and artists they love

Who: Matthew Lyall, Louise Burns, Murray Mckenzie, Jeff Mitchelmore

What: Warm, electro-pop sounds

Why: With hints of indie-rock which lie behind strong electro-synth sounds and folk-tinged vocals (courtesy of Louise Burns ethereal voice) Gold & Youth subscribe to a new school of music. Hailing from Vancouver and Toronto, this foursome are one of many bands to have emerged from the ever-expanding Canadian music scene.

"The sheer distance between Canada’s major urban centres is a major limitation for Canadian bands, particularly for ones like us that aren’t working with the folk rock or Canadiana that resonates in many of the smaller towns. In its isolation, Vancouver has developed an unmistakable musical style that pairs well with laid-back west coast lifestyles. In many ways, Gold & Youth is a reaction to that. It's our attempt to explore darker moods; to take a more urban, international outlook; and to find different points of reference in different threads of music history."

Having received significant critical acclaim in the UK, it seems that Gold & Youth are more a band of the British Eighties generation than of Vancouver's eclectic music scene. "Most of our favourite artists – Joy Division, New Order, Depeche Mode, Kate Bush, The Smiths, and less-obvious ones like John Foxx, Japan, Killing Joke – are British, so it seems like a natural place to focus our attention. And there’s something about the darker and colder aspects of our music that resonates uniquely well there. Our limited touring experience there so far has been positive. It’s an audience we really connect with. And really, there’s nowhere in which we’d be more honoured to succeed."

Parallels have been drawn between Gold & Youth and Depeche Mode, which although resonates with a few tracks on the album, doesn't necessarily ring true for the band as a whole. "Not many people would miss the colder, more synthetic side of 1980s post-punk as a key point of reference for our music. Depeche Mode is the band we’re associated with most often in the press, to the neglect of the warmer, more organic textures we use that you won’t get from them. We’ve tried to invest our music with some glamour as well, along the lines of Bryan Ferry and Avalon-era Roxy Music."



Their debut album, Beyond Wilderness, certainly showcases these British influences. A collection of reverberant and cinematic electro tracks, it is in equal parts familiar yet atypical. Jewel is the definitive Eighties-inspired track, reminiscent of early Madonna combined with The Cure-esque melodies and Depeche Mode synths. Tan Lines is a more laid-back, relaxed track, with its jaunted, catchy bass and guitar riffs and echoing vocal friezes. City of Quartz, perhaps the most memorable song on the record, takes advantage of their techno-electro roots, and is most reminiscent of The National's darker melodies.



For Gold & Youth, their musical journey is informed by imagery, locale and emotions. "There are a few different ideas that guide what we do. We spend a lot of time considering how our visual presentation – performance, video, fashion – pairs with the sounds we’re using, in terms of warmth or darkness for example."

There is a certain darkness in their lyrical edge, which is offset by ambiguous melodies - it's unusual yet refreshing that you are kept wondering whether their songs are supposed to leave you feeling pensive, joyous or out of sorts. Their songwriting process "involves a lot of discussion about imageries." The album has a very aesthetic, image-based feel and that was clearly important when shaping and developing the record for them: "On Beyond Wilderness, [the songs] tend to be informed by place and geography: many of our songs are meant to evoke moods and nostalgia we associate with places dear to us. For Matt, our song City of Quartz is a reflection on his childhood in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. But in terms of music, it’s meant to evoke the cinematic haze of Los Angeles."

Despite their varied influences, they are ultimately supportive of the Canadian music scene, citing artists hailing from their native homeland such as Dirty Beaches, No Joy, Diana and White Poppy, as bands they admire. "And anyone who likes our music – and especially anyone who likes Joy Division – needs to listen to Mode Moderne, from Vancouver." - Harper's Bazaar UK

Vancouver quartet Gold & Youth officially kicked off their Arts & Crafts catalogue with a 7-inch last fall, and now the band's long-prepped debut full-length Beyond Wilderness has finally received a due date of May 14.

As previously reported, the 11-song set was produced by Colin Stewart (Black Mountain, New Pornographers, Dan Mangan) and mixed by Gareth Jones (Depeche Mode, Grizzly Bear, Interpol). A press release notes that the upcoming song cycle, which had originally been pegged for a spring 2012 release, is built around "dark, expansive synthetic textures." It also apparently features "melancholy vocals, detuned synth melodies and understated guitars," and is influenced by Depeche Mode and Roxy Music.

You may be familiar with a couple of cuts off Beyond Wilderness already, as 7-inch songs "City of Quartz" and "Time to Kill" bookend the set, but the band are serving up another sneak peak via the twisting synthscapes of the Louise Burns-sung "Jewel." You can stream the song down below.

Beyond Wilderness:

1. City of Quartz
2. Little Wild Love
3. Quarters
4. Tan Lines
5. Cut Lip
6. Jewel
7. Come to Admire
8. Daylight Colours
9. Young Blood
10. Palm Villas
11. Time to Kill - http://exclaim.ca/

People love Vancouver. I mean, people fucking love Vancouver. While I've never been myself, everyone I've ever known who has visited or lived there has said that it's the most superbly beautiful place to be—"You look to your left and you see the mountains, you turn to your right and you've got the ocean right there!"

Much like the city from which they hail, Vancouver-based four-piece Gold & Youth live at the sublime intersection of industrial and ethereal, the daunting dynamism of the mountains and the hazy swathe of the ocean. Gold & Youth are preparing for the May 14th release of their full-length debut, Beyond Wilderness, on Arts & Crafts, but in the meantime, we've got the premiere of their hypnotic new single, "Jewel." - http://noisey.vice.com/

TIME TO KILL VIDEO PREMIER

http://www.nme.com/nme-video/gold--youth---time-to-kill/1643638961001 - NME.COM

TIME TO KILL VIDEO PREMIER

http://www.nme.com/nme-video/gold--youth---time-to-kill/1643638961001 - NME.COM

Hometown: Vancouver, Canada.

The lineup: Matthew Lyall (vocals, synths, guitar), Murray Mckenzie (backing vocals, guitar), Jeff Mitchelmore (drums), Louise Burns (backing vocals, synths, bass guitar).

The background: Gold & Youth were one of the few bands we managed to catch live at the Great Escape who weren't on the New Band of the Day stage. We were prompted to go and see them by no fewer than three trusted associates of the column plus a couple of actual paying members of the general public. That means a grand total of five people had been moved to suggest we go and watch them play in a pub on the last day of the festival. Five! Do you have any idea how many arts-based movements have been kickstarted by the grassroots support of just five people? Probably none! But that notorious Sex Pistols gig at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester in June 1976 was apparently only attended by a few dozen believers and it pretty much changed the way we dress, think, behave. Could this show by an unknown group from Canada called Gold & Youth have a similarly seismic effect?

Well, it's a week later and life pretty much carries on as usual. But it was a solid performance by a new band comprising three boys and one girl, the same configuration as two of our all-time favourite groups, Talking Heads and New Order, with Louise Burns taking the Tina Weymouth/Gillian Gilbert role, ie the deceptively unassuming one who ends up quietly dictating the group's whole direction. She's actually the latest recruit to Gold & Youth, who used to trade as the Racoons, and briefly as Jakarta, and one suspects, because we haven't heard them in their previous incarnations, that she has given their brooding indie rock an extra melodic breeziness and electronic tang. Their debut album, due out later this year, has been produced by Colin Stewart (Black Mountain, New Pornographers, Dan Mangan) and mixed by Gareth Jones (Depeche Mode, Wire, Grizzly Bear, Interpol) and those names in brackets are important because what Gold & Youth have achieved on that album is a sound that draws equally on American alt-rock and English synth-pop, like the Mode's Violator played by musicians in plaid shirts, only with added shafts of melodic light courtesy, as we say, of Ms Burns, without whom it could have all been a bit musty and dank.

Matthew Lyall has one of those declamatory 80s voices – it's a bit Dave Gahan, a bit Ian McCulloch, with traces of those Australian booming crooners Nick Cave and David McComb from the Triffids. In places Lyall gets overexcited and his singing becomes more of a yelp to denote urgency and inflamed passion, although beware, this is cerebral stuff: the words "invocation" and "inspiration" are rhymed as are "Anglophone" and "telephone", and we'd swear "deconstructed" gets an airing. The tunes are a little underdone, but when they start cooking with gas they'll be delicious. Little Wild Love is from the New Order/Cure school of rhythmical miserablism and City of Quartz is MOR electro-pop, Lyall and Burns trading vocals like Marvin and Tammi in a city of quartz. It's all very serious and intense and even if Time to Kill – where dour guitar rock meets the colourmotion of the dancefloor – doesn't quite slay as a single it does contain the seeds of greatness. Don't expect a new street-level phenomenon, but do expect those five people to become a crowd. - The Guardian

Festival Music House showcases the best in Canadian talent to key members of the film and television industry during the Toronto International Film Festival. Taking place at the exclusive and stylish Roosevelt Room, the event is conducive to elite networking opportunities and a top-level live music experience. - Festival Music House, Toronto Ontario

transmitCHINA artist showcase tour from May 28 – June 5, 2010

The transmitCHINA artist showcase tour will take place in six cities (Hong Kong, Beijing, Guangzhou, Changsha, Wuhan and Shanghai) throughout China from May 28 – June 5, 2010

Some of the artists selected to participate in the tour include: illScarlet, Parlovr, Ohbijou, The Racoons and Flash Lightnin’.

Participants of the transmitCHINA conference have the opportunity to follow the artist showcase tour, and engage in on-the-road discussions with regional on the ground experts. - TransmitNOW

Third indie music fest starts next week

For many bands, Rifflandia is a destination. For others, it’s a springboard.

Such is the case for The Racoons, a trio of Victoria guys who moved to Vancouver in June to live amongst a bigger market that matched their growing profile.

“I think since Rifflandia (2) we’ve made quite a bit of a splash,” said drummer Jeff Mitchelmore. “It was huge for us getting on that (mainstage in Market Square). It was put on by Transmission (a so-called “ideas marketplace”), which is the company that took us to China at the end of May. They remembered us and that’s why I think they took us to China.”

The Racoons and five other Canadian bands were whisked to the Far East to expose Chinese music fans and the country’s government to offerings from the Great White North. “We did seven shows in eight days,” Mitchelmore said. “It was the most amazing thing we ever did.”

Rifflandia 3, which kicks off next Thursday (Sept. 23), will be a kind of homecoming for the band. The Racoons wind up the Friday festivities at the Victoria Event Centre with a set starting at 11:30 p.m.

“We thought going in we would be opening for a bigger band, but (headlining is) a big step for us to see where we stand,” Mitchelmore said. “We’re honoured we’ll have the opportunity to do it.”

Rifflandia is the brainchild of Nick Blasko and his wife, Casey. They modeled the festival after the Iceland Airwaves Festival in Reykjavik, in admiration of its small size and indie music theme.

“Part of the reason we did it was so we could bring in these larger bands and give these local bands a chance to play in front of the same audience, to get a broader base of exposure,” Nick said.

“You realize they’re just as good (and) deserve to be on the stages just as much as the average headliner. What we do is expose a lot of the locals to local music they’re not necessarily used to.”

When out-of-towners and local bands are brought together, socializing and networking is bound to happen. That can be the key to opening doors to national and international touring.

“The experience you get and the amount of buzz that’s generated ... and it’s so young, the festival,” Mitchelmore said. “The talent they’re getting and selling out last year – it’s a great experience for any band or music lover.”

ecardone@vicnews.com - Victoria News

Band Name: The Racoons
From: Victoria, British Columbia
Members:
Matty Lyall- Vocals, Guitar
Jeff Mitchelmore- Drums
Murray Mckenzie- Synthesizer, Guitar
Alex Bodman- Bass
Other Discs: None, although they do used to have three other songs on their MySpace and are working on a full-length.
Sounds Like: Synth-driven garage rock delivered with precision. Equally suited for the dance floor and the mosh pit.
Is that how you spell "raccoon"? No.
Does this affect the music? No, I don't think so.


It would be easy to pigeonhole the Racoons as an 80s-nostalgia group. After all, their name recalls animated Canadian cult classic the Raccoons , (although it's just as likely a reference to Victoria's animal mascot), their album cover/t-shirt is clearly a throwback to the graphic tees of twenty-odd years ago, and their music is liberal with the synthesizers, with an open nod to the Cars and the Cure. But like any good throwback (think TV on the Radio or Bloc Party), the Racoons take the dark undercurrents of the 80s pop-dance movement and apply it to the modern world. In many ways, this is appropriate given the similar themes running through the two times-- economic turmoil, technology recreating our relationships into an increasingly fractured social landscape, and a nagging sense of impending doom.

The sense of consistency in their music could well be due to the fact that, according to an interview with Briding the Atlantic, the band gives itself very clear limits as to what sort of sound they're going to project. Album opener "Rise and Fall" establishes the musical mood immediately with a driving synthesizer line being joined by chiming, clean high notes, minimalist bass, and understated, nearly-machine-like percussion. The lyrics may or may not acknowledge the sense of history repeating itself and ongoing doom that I alluded to earlier with it's message of "It's all a rise and fall" and references to "dead waste putting holes in the ozone."

Vocalist Matt Lydall has the perfect voice for delivering this sort of message, projecting the cold intonations of Robert Smith of the Cure one moment and the authoratative urgency of the Kaiser Chiefs' Ricky Wilson the next, with just the right amount of Spencer Krug and Dan Boekner (Wolf Parade) thrown in there to make it sound more unhinged than either of those other two bands ever manage.

As Lydell says, the comparisons to Wolf Parade are "inevitable", and warranted, in track two "No, It Meant Nothing." Horns complement this song well as it shifts from an almost light-hearted opening riff to marching-band style percussion to swing, though perhaps a doom-laden Said the Whale might be a more apt descriptor. As in the live show, this is a highlight among the EPs eight songs, as are "Be My Television" with its dancefloor-ready drums, uplifting trombones, and understated chorus, "Room to Operate," which sounds like a love song played through a Nintendo Entertainment System before turning into an all-out breakdown, and "Tangiers" which could well be the next Kaiser Chiefs single if they were still putting out stuff as consistent as their first album.

Of course, after all of those we're only left with three tracks, each of which are quality excursions in themselves. "Over Our Shoulders" is radio-ready despite showcasing Lyall at his yelp-iest, and the introspective untitled track at the end is a nice, quiet way to end things off. But before we get there, we're given "Islomania," a slow-building track which demonstrates the quality arrangements this group is capable of. According to Lyall, the title is a reference to the fact that "Victoria is a funny city in that sense though, because no one really ever gives it credit for Frog Eyes, Immaculate Machine, Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown, etc.... there's a rule that as soon as you start selling out you've gotta move to Montreal and erase your Island alter-ego... it's this basically irrelevant little island that we all have this funny little love-hate relationship with. We want to be left alone, but we're also really scared that we're missing out."

Based on the strength of this EP, and with a fair amount of buzz being generated, I think it's safe to say that the Racoons will be next on that list of Island bands to jump onto the national scene. Whether or not they'll relocate to Montreal remains to be seen. - The CanCon Catalogue

Most Promising Local Band or Artist: The Racoons

Like their real-life counterparts, local indie rockers the Racoons are getting into everything. CBC Radio 3 has already honed in on the Racoons energetic melody on a recent podcast and the Zone featured the quartet as their Band of the Month. With a strong EP under their belt and a stronger local following, the Racoons are the kind of creatures you want in your aural backyard.

Runners-up: Rugged Uncle, Growler

link::

http://www.mondaymag.com/articles/entry/cheers-to-you/arts/
- Monday Magazine, Victoria BC

The Racoons have been nominated for a CBC RADIO 3 2009 Bucky Award in the Best New Artist Category ::

http://radio3.cbc.ca/polls/?pollId=47 - CBC Radio 3

I think I might have just met the coolest band ever.

The Von Bondies played at Richards on Richards in Vancouver last night and all I can say is that other bands should take note of the following.

By cool I mean that they insisted we not take photos during the first three songs. They wanted us to wait until they were sweaty. AND, they were cool with us using flash. For those of you who don’t know this, usually anyone photographing a show is only allowed to take photos during the first three songs without flash. The Von Bondies hate that rule and specifically asked that photographers go buck wild taking photos once the band had warmed up and were sweating from jumping around.

Openers The Racoons were great. They had a crisp sound and I liked every song they played. So much so that I went bought their cd and have been listening to them non-stop since I heard them. They were high energy and that energy carries through to how they describe themselves on their myspace page:

“It’s difficult to nail down The Racoons. Picture a band that can reconcile a love for Joy Division, Bruce Springsteen and The Cars. Now picture a second band that sounds like Frank Zappa, David Caruso and Animal from the Muppets. Now picture a cover band of the second band mentioned. Now picture a rival cover band of the first cover band who aren’t quite as talented and generally refer to themselves as a tribute band. The Racoons are that band.”

The Racoons drummer will probably hate us for this but we couldn’t help but notice that he looks like he could be one of the Jonas brother.

After what seemed like a really long break between sets, the Von Bondies took to the stage.

I’m surprised by the lack of people at the show. The Von Bondies aren’t a new band so you’d think more of their following would have made it out. Also, their latest album Love Hate and then There’s You, that includes the popular “Pale Bride” and “This is Our Perfect Crime”, is really good. Maybe it was because the show was on Monday and it was a late show. Got to be bright eyed and bushy tailed for work in the morning (well except for me that is)!

Despite the lack of people to fill the venue, the people that were there seemed enthused about seeing the bands and even more so to party with them. The Racoons kept buying the The Von Bondies shots. I think I recall The Racoons saying something about Vancouver being their last night on tour with The Von Bondies so I’m sure partying ensued after the shots.

Some bands that tour together have different vibes and keep their sets seperate for that reason, but not The Von Bondies and The Racoons. The Racoons got up on stage for The Von Bondies’ last song. It was great seeing them all jump around and feed off the same energy.

If they’re in your area, check them out. It was a great show. Acoustics were crisp. Music was great. Bands were friendly and passionate about rocking out with the crowd.

Listen to some of their newest tracks at their myspace page and stay tuned for an interview with lead singer of The Von Bondies, Jason Stollsteimer. - Killahbeez.com

listen to the proof of my theory that the Racoons will be the next heirs to the Victoria BC rock 'n' roll throne (left empty due to the departed Hot Hot Heat, Black Mountain and Wolf Parade). - CBC Radio 3

Have you ever noticed how much bands are like raccoons? Think about it: mischievous, nocturnal, able to live off scraps.

But don't take my word for it, you can listen to my interview with Victoria's The Racoons on today's show. The band is just fresh off a tour with the Von Bondies and can't wait to get out on to the road again. And they don't mind the comparisons to the black and white critters whose name they almost share (check out that totally individual and hard to search for spelling).

As well as sharing similarities with animals, bands often share many of the same relationship traps as couples. And during the interview I find out that all wasn't so great in the Racoon burrow for awhile.

Link to interview::

http://radio3.cbc.ca/blogs/2009/06/Tonight-In-Conversation-with-The-Racoons


- Lisa Christiansen - CBC Radio 3

Capt. James Cook, like a good many of his fellow explorers, was reportedly afflicted with islomania, an intense fondness for and fascination with islands.

The same could be said of musicians based in the Garden City. The locale has its difficulties to be sure -- travel is a constant killer; rehearsal space is expensive; and there's a limited number of performance venues. But the view from here sure is breathtaking.

The young lads in Victoria indie-pop act the Racoons adroitly acknowledged the push-pull of Victoria life by titling their debut EP Islomania. But in an ironic twist, the four friends -- singer-guitarist Matthew Lyall, keyboardist-guitarist Murray McKenzie, drummer Jeff Mitchelmore and bassist Alex Bodman -- recently left Victoria and rented a house together in Vancouver, hoping to escape the difficulties of Island travel.

"We all love Victoria, but we kind of wanted a change," said Lyall, who turned 25 this week. "That ferry ride with a trailer just gets stupidly expensive. It was taking $400 off every show, going there and back. For that alone, it's almost worth living in Vancouver."

The move has already paid dividends. A successful string of eight dates opening for Detroit rockers the Von Bondies, including a stop at Lee's Palace in Toronto, wrapped Monday night with a rollicking gig at Richard's on Richards in Vancouver. But it was the tour's Edmonton stop that proved to be the highlight for Lyall, whose family has deep roots in the Alberta capital.

"I think I had 45 family members in the audience, including my 89-year-old grandpa, which was pretty legendary," he said with a laugh. "We had a built-in fan base, so it's hard to go wrong."

The Racoons got serious about playing music a little over a year ago, but the friendship between Lyall, Mitchelmore, and Bodman dates back well over a decade.

All three played in the St. Michaels University School jazz band, and while trumpet and trombone make fleeting appearances on Islomania, the EP rocks more than it swings, suggesting a mix that is equal parts Kaiser Chiefs and Arcade Fire.

The group went small-scale in its approach during their sessions with producer (and Maurice frontman) Jean-Paul Maurice, who recorded Islomania in the living room of his house. Months earlier, the Racoons had recorded a full-length album in a fancy studio with another producer, but decided to scrap the results.

"It happened too fast," Lyall said. "We hadn't even figured out who we were yet."

Mitchelmore and Bodman have their hands full at the moment -- the rhythm section does double duty in another acclaimed Victoria band, the Paper Cranes -- but the project is a big priority for everyone involved. Lyall, whose brother, Geordie, plays professional soccer with the Vancouver Whitecaps, is particularly game.

He was a serious rugby player until a concussion sidelined him seven years ago. Music is his primary passion these days, and he hopes the Racoons can make a living at it. Though challenging, life as a touring musician is somewhat easier living in a city such as Vancouver.

But the allure of Island life is never far from his mind, especially when he comes across transplanted Victorians during his band's travels.

The Racoons met a couple following their recent show in Montreal (Arlen Thompson from Wolf Parade and ex-Hot Hot Heat bassist Dustin Hawthorne) with whom he talked about the friendliness of the Victoria music community.

"That's what the entire conversation was about. They both love Montreal, but there is something special about Victoria. It's cool to think that Victoria fosters that. I don't know how it works, but it does."

mdevlin@tc.canwest.com

© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist

- Mike Devlin - Times Colonist- Victoria BC

The Racoons
Islomania
By Amanda Ash

The Racoons, a four-piece rock outfit from Victoria, BC, are one of the few bands you can get drunk off of without the stomach-churning, ill after-effects. When their debut EP, Islomania, first reaches your ears, you won't be able to get enough of tracks like "Rise & Fall," "No, It Meant Nothing" and "Room To Operate." You can indulge in their intoxicating soundscapes filled with moody synths, jazzy horns, echoing vocals and suave rock swagger for hours on end. And unlike other records where obsessive repetition can lead to your eternal hating and swearing off of the damned discs, you can get up the next day, and the day after that, to give it another whirl. For a debut, Islomania is a solid chunk of pop rock goodness. (Independent)

http://www.exclaim.ca/musicreviews/latestsub.aspx?csid1=115&csid2=870&fid1=42734 - EXCLAIM! Magazine