The Famines

nd then came the Famines, a two-piece band from Edmonton. Together Raymond E. Biesinger (guitar/vox) and Garrett Heath Kruger (drums) generate some of the best noise you could hope for from two bodies. I was totally into it, as I’m sure most others were too. The Famines write the Dummies book “How To Make DIY Punk Rock With Just Two People.”

Kruger and Biesinger moved around the small floor area, falling to the ground or into the audience, but not in a violent way, just a ‘getting lost in the performance’ kind of deal. At one point he knocked over his microphone and stand, and I had the honour of being the nearest helping hand to pick up the pieces and plug the mic back in.

The set past by all too soon, and in a blur. I’ve no idea about what songs were played as I was hearing all this music for the first time, but from their MySpace I recognized “Gimme Some Numbers” at least. The Famines are definitely a band worth checking out. Great gig.

-Brian Banks - Music Vice

Edmonton two-piece the Famines have kept it so quiet that they seem to have come out of nowhere, but the reality is that they are made-up of the Vertical Struts' Raymond Biesinger on bass and vocals, and Garrett Kruger, of beloved post-hardcore band the Wolfnote, on drums. The Black Sea, their debut four-song EP, comes as a lovingly packaged double seven-inch, complete with a 26-page booklet (Biesinger is also a talented graphic designer). Musically, the band keep up with the best, inhabiting a unique hybrid of vintage garage, punk and noise that is unpretentious but not straightforward. As a duo, they've perfected quiet-loud dynamics in order to maximize the diversity of their instruments and never losing interest throughout the four songs. This is a promising debut from an equally promising band, and it's also available on eight-track, if you were wondering. (Independent)

-Josiah Hughes - Exclaim! Magazine

If packaging alone were enough to win favour with the masses, The Famines would undoubtedly be ahead of the pack. This debut double seven-inch comes with a finely crafted, perfect-bound book that contains, among other things: band name-inspired artwork, button designs, mock newspaper pages and maps of Turkey and Cairo. This isn't a multi-layered record that you'll need to spend time with to fully digest. There are only four songs here, and their make-up is so uncomplicated (as one could reasonably expect from a guitar/drums duo) that it's possible to form an immediate connection. You could comfortably call The Famines anything from punk to garage rock, but their defining aesthetic is in their dated feel. It may just be the vinyl talking, but there's something very 1970s about these guys.

(4/5 stars)

-Scott Bryson - CHARTattack

The Famines
The Legion Up
While Japanther's bizarre experimental ruminations were transmitted through phones rather than
microphones on the stage of the main floor of the Legion, the incredibly loud noise-rock played
by the Edmontonian duo reigned the upper floor. The Famines replaced Curtis Santiago in the
line-up, and they did not disappoint.
Soon, the cramped space was pouring sweat as the floor shook under the dance of erratic beats.
Guitarist Raymond Biesinger surged through the thick crowd, climbing on amps and screaming
wildly as he vied for the attention he so rightly deserved. As an insane prologue to what was to come, the Famines did more than what was required to agitate the gathered crowd. (SK) - Beatroute