Sc Mira
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | Established. Jan 01, 2014 | INDIE
Music
Press
By Alex Hudson
Winnipeg's Sc Mira have an EP coming out on Pipe & Hat in 2015, and while that's still a ways off, they have shared the title cut, "On My Own."
The tune is a cloud-scraping folk rock number that's anchored by a brisk marching beat. This is a overlaid with twangy vocal quirks, acoustic strums, and piano tinkles that are delivered with a sense of chamber rock grandeur.
"The story behind 'On My Own' is a very personal one for lead singer and songwriter Sc," a press release explains. "She has spent years suffering from many injuries and countless surgeries from a young age due to cancer in the knee. Songwriting was instinctual on the tail end of many traumas. 'On My Own' is a true form of expressing her neverending sense of feeling trapped in your own body, that sense of strange in your own familiar surroundings. Dealing with the realms of watching your life from the outside instead of feeling like you're living it."
Scroll past Sc Mira's tour schedule to hear "On My Own" below and grab the single on iTunes here.
Tour dates:
10/10 Regina, SK - German Club *
10/11 Winnipeg, MB - The Cavern *
10/15 Windsor, ON - Phog Lounge *
10/16 Ottawa, ON - The Rainbow *
10/17 Montreal, QC - L'Esco *
10/18 Quebec City, QC - TBA *
10/20 Moncton, NB - Plan B Lounge *
10/23 Kingston, ON - Clark Hall Pub
10/24 Ottawa, ON - Mercury Lounge
10/25 Toronto, ON - TBA
10/30 Milwaukee, WI - Glub Garibaldi
10/31 Green Bay, WI - TBA
11/01 Minneapolis, MN - Aster Cafe * - exclaim.ca
Sc Mira is a group from Winnipeg who writes catchy and electrifying songs. Their debut album, Waiting Room Baby, is short and sweet in nature, with each one of its six tracks gripping and memorable. Their sound is an interesting and uncommon mix: much of the instrumental is pop-based, but there’s a vocal pitch and twang that hints at a lot of country influence. Some of the tracks also show a soft rock and folk influence, all leading to a unique and signature sound.
Some of the songs are soft and relaxing with a true emotional vibe to them. All six tracks are written in a way indicative of genuine, heartfelt composing, but the feelings are particularly prominent in “Misery” and “Do Me.” The album is less than 20 minutes in length, but the six songs are short and sweet. They each stand out individually while supporting and carrying each other.
Finale track “Do Me” is probably the best song on here. It’s certainly the most memorable. While lead singer Sadye Cage’s Southern Belle vocals dominate, particular attention should be given to the bass that carries a hook throughout. Bass is often overshadowed in a pop band, and the subtleties it brings to the track add a new enjoyment (best enjoyed through headphones). It’s a splendid upbeat track that leaves us wanting more, and highlights what makes the band talented and unique.
While “Do Me” is the most enjoyable song here, “Got Gone” is my personal favourite. It has a slow tempo and features a degree of influence in folk-rock, with some alt-pop elements thrown in. The guitar work is quite well done here, with the riff constantly changing and bridging to create a distinctive sound.
“Motel Honey,” featuring alt hip-hop artist Buck 65, may be the most bizarre track. It sounds different from the rest of the tracks somehow: the instrumental work features a synth-sound somewhat pop-like and very alternative. Buck 65’s vocal work seems odd and perhaps out of place – it’s the only instance of vocal work outside of Sadye, and the hip-hop verse just doesn’t really work in the tone of the album. It’s not to say it’s a bad song; merely a strange deviation.
Overall, each track brings something new to contribute: a folk-rock, country-esque album of triumph. It’s a showcasing potluck of what this rising band has to offer, and we can only expect more interesting sounds in the future. I’m curious to see in what direction Sc Mira’s music will go for their next release, and look forward to it. Anyone into indie-pop, folk, or indie music in general should give this one a listen. - The Permanent Rain Press
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
A vacant warehouse. Music blasting. A woman with a needle in her chest meets a man in a tacky red suit. Pulp Fiction meets feigned pomp. Sadye Cage meets Ty Vega.
The unorthodox union, born of fake blood and abandoned asylum lighting, and fleshed out with the addition of drummer Jed Desilets, bassist Mario Lagassé, and Caro LaFlamme on keys would eventually become Winnipeg-rooted indie-rock outfit Sc Mira.
Originating first with Cage and a handful of her songs, Sc Mira began its growth as a band when Vega was tapped to lend his producer’s touch to the material, but instead found himself magnetically drawn to it and, more importantly, its potential. “It was that voice,” he says, citing Cage’s unmistakable delivery – quivering, delicate, simultaneously sweet and sinister. Their bond as artistic outcasts has since become unbreakable.
Sc Mira’s musical tapestry is a seamless weaving of folk, alt-country, rock, and indie pop. Their debut, Waiting Room Baby, showcases simple but savory instrumentation framing and keeping focus on Cage’s voice and poetry. The overall product on record, which features the legendary Buck 65 (a poet in his own right) on the track “Motel Honey,” is sweet but haunting, bold but brittle. Live, though, those same songs are injected with energy and rise, fervor and ferocity.
With the recordings that would eventually comprise Waiting Room Baby in hand, Vega and Cage travelled to Montreal in 2014 to work with acclaimed producer and engineer Howard Bilerman (Arcade Fire, Basia Bulat). Originally recorded in an old bank vault in downtown Winnipeg, the six tracks would benefit from Bilerman’s co-production at his hotel2tango studio. “He drew out everything we wanted to emphasize and really brought out the best in those songs,” offers Cage.
The lyrics are richly emotive and pair perfectly with Cage’s voice. “I like to tell stories, I guess,” she says shyly. The incredibly hooky lead single “On My Own,” an atmospheric and upbeat modern folk offering, harkens back to the singer’s several-year-long struggle with her health. While it’s often considered a means of healing, at times, music can be pain. “Sometimes, writing songs and drawing from some of those experiences made things a lot worse,” says Cage, reflecting on countless hours spent in hospital beds and shut in from the world round her – an experience with which Vega can relate. “Motel Honey,” on the other hand, is more narrative in its approach and explores the politics and morality of sex and prostitution.
Sc Mira has drawn accolades and attention through their energetic and electric live performances. “Our sound gets a bit heavier on the stage,” Vega shares. “We make sure people get a show – not just live music.”
That sentiment has yielded impressive showings at NXNE and the Mile of Music Festival, where Sadye and Ty were joined by Jimmy Chamberlin (Smashing Pumpkins), who quickly became a fan. They’ve performed to thousands at Winnipeg’s MTS Centre and toured extensively supporting Buck 65 (where they even joined him as his backing band for the tongue-in-cheek single, “Super Pretty Naughty) in recent months.
With a live show that boasts the urgency and intensity of a thunderstorm and a fresh take on fiery folk rock – dark, dazzling, eerie, elegant – Sc Mira is a shot of adrenaline, straight to the heart. Fitting, isn’t it?
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