Owl Farm

Owl Farm – Owl Farm
2008, Owl Farm

Owl Farm is an unsigned quintet from Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Drawing from Psychedelic, Punk and Melodic Rock influences with the occasional blues infiltration, Owl Farm creates primarily instrumental music that is varied and interesting. Their self-titled debut EP, Owl Farm, is a creative musical venture you’ll want to check out for yourself.

Owl Farm opens with Balzac, a series of guitar rock vignettes that morphs from rockabilly to Southern Rock to Grunge in something of a guitar rock history lesson. Starter builds in intensity as it seesaws from Prog to Grunge/Pop and back throughout; an interesting composition that makes use of some familiar chord progressions in ways perhaps you hadn’t thought to try them. Good Sense is an electronic composition based on a simple bass line/beat as served by a programmed keyboard. Owl Farm vocalist J-P makes his first appearance here in minimalist fashion. I have to say that this song was just a bit bizarre and is more like performance art than composition. 45 Seconds To Lobster is a punk rock soliloquy about food as escapism, one supposes. Again, amusing but bizarre.

The Lobster Stomp has a very garage sound and was likely as fun to play as it is to hear. Don’t expect to make much sense of it; it’s a musical romp for its own sake that periodically deteriorates into greater levels of madness before returning to its usual mundane level of insanity. E.R.T. is the closest thing to a sensible rock song on the disc, alternating between a repetitive and bland verse and a slightly less repetitive and bland chorus. Only in the logical drift of the occasional bridge does Owl Farm flirt with its usual chaos. Owl Farm complete makes up for anything resembling normal on Invisible. This is my favorite track on the album; a pure punk rock tune with almost Police-like minimalism (ala their early albums).

Owl Farm comes across as something of an art-rock band on the coincidentally entitled Owl Farm E.P. Energy is expended, crazy chord progressions are played, mad ideas presented and in the end a good time is had by all. Not everyone is going to get this disc, but if you were ever a fan of bands like The Dead Kennedys, Husker Du, Black Flag or any of the other punk denizens of late 1980’s college radio then you’ll love this disc. Owl Farm exceeds those bands for musicality on occasion, probably just to rebel, but their hearts are in the right place.



- Wildy's world .com

Owl Farm
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Owl Farm are from Kingston, Ontario, and they have a self-titled EP out. The band play alternative rock. Putting "alternative" in italics was my way of saying that it's very alternative, as in not conventional.

First of all, I like that a big chunk of the music's focus is on the instrumental. It's not what you'd call progressive rock, but rather just an unconventional method. The songs are easy to like and they're memorable, even when there are no vocals or the lyrics are oft-repeated.

I get a kind of "playing what we want to play" vibe from Owl Farm, but if that's the case, what they want to play is interesting and good enough.

- The Edge 102.1 Toronto - Explore Music

"Kingston Ontario's Owl Farm is an interesting, quirky band, but not in a forced sounding way." - Alan Cross' Exploremusic.

"Owl Farm just seems to have a fun, goofy vibe inherent in their otherwise seriously well written songs . . . " - Grubtunes - a blog from Toronto.

Owl Farm is extremely creative, and at least moderately disturbed; you must at least admire their theoretical medication regimen if nothing else. - Wildys World - New York.

"very good - no deal yet, check them out on their myspace." - exploremusic

This seven song debut feature alumni from many great local indie bands of lore. This Kingston band alternates between twitchy guitar instrumentals and complex garage punk. This is the band that has scientifically proven it is possible to cover both The Smiths AND Led Zeppelin live. Watch this band they're really good. Recommended song to suplex someone to: Invisible (look at me I'm).

Adam Weaver. - Queen's University - CFRC - Listen Up