This Hisses

This Hisses is a band that knows what it wants, a fact underscored on the operatic post-punk trio's sophomore album, Anhedonia.

"When we sat down, we were discussing making a more cinematic yet still decidedly rock 'n' roll record," says vocalist Julia Ryckman over coffee in her cozy West End dining room.



Check and check. Anhedonia has an affecting emotional gravitas often reserved for movie scores, thanks to Ryckman's ethereal, classical pipes and bandmates Patrick Short and JP Perron's inky black-velvet soundcapes. And the record rocks too, some songs rattle and roll like The Stooges -- if The Stooges were fronted by an opera singer, that is.

The band communicated their vision through screen references -- like, say, "this song needs to sound more like The Black Lodge in Twin Peaks." Those hyper-specific nods to film and TV are certainly reflected in the record's evocative, cinematic swells; Anhedonia definitely has a distinct David Lynch sensibility.

Anhedonia album cover (Transistor 66)

The members of This Hisses joke they talk a lot. But, as Short says, "as a musician, you have so much more autonomy when you know how you want to sound and you know how to communicate that."

"The other thing that we wanted to articulate was that we wanted it every which way," Ryckman adds, referring to the record's stark contrasts: light and dark, wistfully nostalgic and austere. The title track, in particular, is an achievement when it comes to capturing those moments. "It seemed like the epitome of what we were trying to do."

As for the title's medical-text roots, "it's a poetic usage of the word Anhedonia, which is a psychological term for people who don't find pleasure in activities most people find pleasurable," Ryckman explains. "That song is more about an unsuccessful relationship with desire. What if you could cut yourself off from desire and pleasure and feel peace?"

It's evident from the new record that This Hisses has grown as a band since its punky 2011 surf-rock debut, Surf Noir. Anhedonia is a bona fide studio album produced by Royal Canoe's Matt Peters.

And while This Hisses is a blistering force live, "it's pretty magical to be in the studio, even if it's for five days," Ryckman says. "Being in the studio has to feel good. It has to be magical, because that's where our dreams live."

This Hisses unleashes Anhedonia at the West End Cultural Centre on Saturday, February 9. - CBC

Sophomore albums are a tricky thing for an indie band with equal parts cred and good debut under their belt. If they make songs that are too similar to their first release on that second LP they’re derided for a lack of progression and if they push too far forward they’re chastised for changing their sound – or even worse, selling out.

Thankfully for Winnipeg indie-band This Hisses and their brilliant new album Anhedonia none of these criticisms can be made. Anhedonia is luminous education in rock and roll, combining sonics steeped in surf, electric-blues and punk-rock with solid songwriting and a good sense of melody. It is a bold step forward from their impressive debut album Surf Noir, taking the raw song-writing and impressive sound that worked so well on their first LP and pumping it up with bold vigor.

Borrowing its title from a psychological condition resulting in the complete absence of pleasure, Anhedonia is an album steeped in pain and suffering, in all of its forms. But this is hardly a downer of an album, instead raging against the dying light and offering one of the best releases by a Canadian band of the year thus far.

At the forefront of this album is the storming vocal prowess of singer-bassist Julia Ryckman. Bringing some angelic vocals to the blackened surf sound, Ryckman’s contrast to the sonic-landscapes created by guitarist Patrick Short and drummer Jean-Paul Perron actually ends up being a perfect compliment.

Opening with the bluesy title track “Anhedonia”, This Hisses offer up a sound slightly akin to Florence and the Machine to start, but with a lot more grunge at its core. The feisty mood continues in the albums second track – and single – “Blacksmith”, with its pogo-inducing punk chorus and siren-like wails. And when I say punk the distinction must be made between the real goods and the immature brand developed in ‘the noughties’ by Blink-182 et al. This is punk rock we’re talking about, and it comes up in a big way in songs like “Farm Lovin’ Boy” and “The Long Slow Crawl”.

But there’s more to this album than just angst by way of power chords and rhythm. Steeped within the glorious noise are some soulful numbers which while harking back to some more classic sounds still maintain This Hisses’ trademark noir-rock sound. On “My Love He Shot a Sparrow” the band slows down for a drowsy surf-ballad that could have very well found it way on a Tarrantino soundtrack had it been released some time before ’92. “Icelandic Blue” has a similar surf-rock sensibility, by offering it up by way of Sun Studios and a little woeful Memphis soul.

For all the differing influences on this record there is thankfully still a consistency throughout. Hardly sounding like a mash-up of genres, Anhedonia is a fine experience in cinematic rock and roll and the sounds of noir by way of Winnipeg. An impressive feat for a band only beginning to find its stride, Anhedonia is definitely a collection of songs worth picking up. - Cadence Magazine

Anhedonia

This Hisses

Transistor 66

Rock. Cinematic. Female vocals. Garage rock. Post-punk rock. Winnipeg.

We live in a hash-tag, give-it-to-me-in-a-word-or-three-at-the-most world. The above descriptors are listed on the Bandcamp page (thishisses.bandcamp.com) of This Hisses, who are a … well, you know who (and what and where) they are.

What you don’t know is why. I’ll venture a guess that the trio (fronted by Julia Ryckman – she of the steely, operatically trained voice) exists as a reaction to outrageous coldness and unreasonable darkness. The sound is hardly old-fashioned, but there is something deeply elemental to the lyrical themes: solitude, healing, hunting, fear, despair and acute cravings for warmth.

In other words, #JustAnotherDayInManitoba.

The band’s second album, out Feb. 5, begins with the title track, an ominous (perhaps autobiographical) brooder. “I used my voice to crawl out of my loneliness,” sings Ryckman, dripping with heavy drama about a hook-up. “He acted like he was frightened of me – like I was a widow with a curse upon me.”

A medical text book would describe “anhedonia” as the inability to experience joy from activities usually found enjoyable. But let’s not paint things as all doom, gloom and lithium. The Rock Lobster dance would work fine for the surf-rocking Blacksmith.

Farm Boy Lovin rocks like the Who and Blitzkrieg Bop, and is sweet and upbeat, even with its lovelorn sentiment. The needy protagonist requires a poetic lover from the outskirts – one imagines any of the Weakerthans would do.

Icelandic Blue has a melodramatic, retro-rock grip to it, with a touch of twang again. Trapper’s Lake is a fairly frightening blues – all tension, spine-tingling slide-guitar riff and titanium-plated Sister Rosetta Tharpe vibe.

The album has overwhelming and underwhelming moments. Ryckman’s presence is major, but without a lot of charisma. And there is no one, significant track to draw attention. Myself, I prefer Erika Wennerstrom and her Heartless Bastards when it comes to big-voiced, sling-blade guitar rock.

Chances are, however, that This Hisses gets no namesake jeers or boos for its live performances. My advice is to get out and see this band on stage, where they can receive love, heat and company. They sound like they need it – don’t we all.

This Hisses launches Anhedonia on Feb. 9, at the West End Cultural Centre, Winnipeg. - The Globe and Mail

By Gregory Adams
Two years after Winnipeg post-punk trio delivered their debut disc Surf Noir, the band are back with their next set, Anhedonia. The sophomore LP arrives February 5 through Transistor 66 Records.

A press release for the album explains that the nine-song set homes in on a "darkly cinematic yet decidedly rock'n'roll aesthetic," with nods being given to David Lynch, Nick Cave and the Stooges, among others. Anhedonia was produced and engineered by Matt Peters (Royal Canoe, Waking Eyes) and co-mixed with John Paul Peters.

Some standouts are said to include murder ballad "My Love He Shot a Sparrow" and the '80s-appropriate goth-rocker "Blacksmith." You can check out the gloomy new video for that latter track down below.

This Hisses will be playing a hometown record release show at Winnipeg's West End Cultural Centre on February 9 and will announce some spring tour dates sometime soon. For now, feast your eyes on that video.

Anhedonia:

1. Anhedonia
2. Blacksmith
3. My Love He Shot A Sparrow
4. Farm Boy Lovin
5. Trapper's Lake
6. Icelandic Blue
7. The Long Slow Crawl
8. Better Off Dead
9. Winter's Grip - Exclaim.ca

By Kristen Kerstner
Winnipeg rockers This Hisses have made a name for themselves with their aggressive female vocals and raw instrumentals, and now we're only days away from the release of their sophomore album Anhedonia. The album is set to drop February 5 via Transistor 66 Records, but you can stream the whole album here on Exclaim.ca.

The album was produced and engineered last Spring by Matt Peters (Royal Canoe, Waking Eyes), and co-mixed by John Paul Peters, and, according to the band's release, was inspired by "David Lynch and Wim Wenders as much as it was by The Stooges and Nick Caveto to create a collection of songs for the jilted, haunted, and sentimental."

Earlier this month, we got a sample of Anhedonia with a video for "Blacksmith," which proved to have a more cinematic, rock n' roll style than their punky debut Surf Noir, and the other eight tracks follow suit. Murder ballad, "My Love He Shot A Sparrow" features Patrick Short's haunting harmonies and front-woman Julia Ryckman's operatic crooning, while "Farm Lovin' Boy" and "The Long Slow Crawl" are more of your standard rock tracks relying more heavily on guitar riffs and more pronounced drum beats by JP Perron.

The band will be playing a record release show in Winnipeg on February 9, but no other tour dates have been announced yet. In the meantime, check out the new This Hisses album, Anhedonia, below. - Exclaim.ca

Indie

By Jaymin Proulx

www.thishisses.com

Upon listening to Anhedonia, it seems clear that the band beseeches the listener to journey into a darker atmosphere, where operatic vocals along with heavy drum and guitar work are featured from beginning to end. There is nothing light about this album: it is reminiscent of Vancouver’s The Organ, a Canadian, all-female band that also exhibited a seducing and haunting vocal front-woman before disbanding in 2006.

Anhedonia is extremely well organized in play and in production. The Hisses deliver a variety of songs that sit more on an a operatic/goth metal sound, yet diverge slightly to rock ballads and add some ethereal harmonies as well.

The Winnipeg, Manitoba band consists of Julia Ryckman (vocals and bass); Patrick Short (guitar) and JP Perron (drums). The alumni of a variety of Winnipeg bands (The Gorgon, Under Pressure and Mahogany Frog), This Hisses formed in early 2010 and produced their debut LP Surf Noir in the summer of 2011, delivering a surf-rock themed album.

Recorded in the spring of 2012, Matt Peters (who worked with Royal Canoe and Waking Eyes) produced and engineered the entire album, and co-mixed it with John Paul Peters (producer, engineer, and mixer of Propaghandi’s Failed States).

But one cannot overlook Ryckman, who is exquisite in her vocals and brings a harmony of rage and celestial poetry to her singing. I can think of a few female vocalists that have moved me that much: Florence Welch of Florence+The Machine, Tori Amos and Christina Scabbia from Lacuna Coil, are a few.

The songs of This Hisses unveil severing oneself from pain and pleasure, but if you listen closely, you realize you’re not overwrought with fear or loathsomeness. It is truly a harmonious experience to listen to this album, where the listener is transported into a world of deliberate orchestration and poetry. And given that the band is Canadian, its extra reason to pick this album for your collection. - Lithium Magazine

From The Guess Who to The Weakerthans, Winnipeg has always been one great city when it comes to music.

Here are five local bands that should be signed to a major record label deal immediately.

1. Imaginary Cities

This soulful pop rock band is the by-product of a chance meeting at The Cavern, where soundman Rusty Matyas — formerly of The Waking Eyes — first heard incredibly gifted young singer Marti Sarbit. Since its basement birth, Imaginary Cities has expanded from duo to quintet, had its debut album Temporary Resident long-listed for the Polaris Music Prize, supported The Pixies on a North American tour and most recently played the world-famous Lollapalooza festival in Chicago. Visit imaginarycities.ca

2. This Hisses

This local trio — comprised of operatic vocalist Julia Ryckman, drummer JP Perron and guitarist/moody melody maker Pat Short — is literally in a league of their own. To properly describe its stunning and spooky sound, This Hisses invented a genre called surf noir, which also happens to be the title of its debut album. Visit thishisses.com

3. The Lytics

Keep it in the family. This hip-hop group is comprised of brothers Andrew, Anthony and Alex Sannie, cousin Mungala Londe and DJ Lonnie Ce. The band of brotherly love preaches positivity instead of “bitches and money,” rapping over beats that recall Golden Age Hip Hop acts such as A Tribe Called Quest. The Lytics are coming off a Canada Day collaboration with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and will release a new album, That’s What They Told Me, Oct. 19 at the Pyramid Cabaret. Visit thelytics.ca

4. The Ripperz

Known for inciting entire audience sing-a-longs, this rocking trio has made quite the mark on Winnipeg’s music scene — fitting, as all of its members originally hail from Landmark, Man. Capitalizing on its captivating concert energy, The Ripperz recorded its 2011 sophomore album You are the Moon the old-fashioned way, live off the floor. Visit facebook.com/theripperz

5. The Magnificent 7s

Last year, this five-piece band released its sophomore album, the appropriately titled All Kinds of Mean. The Mag 7’s mix of low-down and lonesome country, breakneck bluegrass and punk rock attitude is truly gritty. The badass band is about to embark on an American tour, which includes a Manitoba Music Showcase at The Living Room in New York City. Visit mag7.com - Metro - Winnipeg

Vaihtoehtokulttuurin oma ohjelma Neo alkoi Ylen netissä - YLE AREENA Finnish Internet tv:

I began the night at the Rochester. I initially thought I would briefly swing by, but ended up staying for several hours. First up were


This Hisses at the Rochester
Winnipeg’s This Hisses, whose film-noir-esque surf rock captured my attention earlier this week. Seeing them live did nothing to alleviate my band crush on this trio; if anything, it bloomed into a full-on dalliance. Emotive, almost petulant singer Julia Ryckman wore a long blonde wig, false eyelashes and gold lamé, while drummer J.P. Perron rocked a twirly villain moustache and cop shades. Guitarist Pat Short let the weird, slightly sinister tones of his guitar perform all the theatrics he needed, the tone somehow both sweet and menacing, like expecting a lick of butterscotch ripple and instead your ice-cream tastes bloody. Heavy, sumptuous, with just the right amount of glitter, This Hisses have got it going on. The only thing that could have improved the set would have been if the band had a huge, ravenous audience instead of a small crew of dedicated fans. Come on people, if Steph Guthrie could show up on crutches, her leg in a cast, and rock out for the whole set, you can get out of your pajama pants too. - Canada Arts Connect

C’est quoi?
Surf noir, c’est le tout premier album du trio winnipégois This Hisses. La troupe menée par la charismatique chanteuse Julia Ryckman dit faire du postpunk. L’impression laissée est plutôt celle d’un groupe de rock garage.

Garage noir?
Probablement, oui. On retrouve dans l’imaginaire de This Hisses des éléments tordus et macabres qui hantent également l’univers de Jack White et de The Cramps. Côté son, on se rapproche de The Gun Club et de Dead Moon. Là où This Hisses se démarque, c’est probablement avec la voix puissante et envoûtante, voire opératique, de Julia Ryckman, qui confère à ce rock garage une touche unique à la fois ténébreuse et charmante, comme l’étreinte d’un spectre. Ajoutez à cela quelques influences de country, de surf, de punk et de rock psychédélique, et vous avez un disque à la fois tranchant, romantique et fantomatique.

Postgarage?
This Hisses s’inscrit dans un créneau rock garage déjà quasi saturé, mais en fait sa propre affaire et nous amène sur un terrain encore peu exploré. Peut-on parler de postrock garage? Allez savoir. Essentiellement, Surf noir est un excellent album produit par la toujours pertinente maison de disques Transistor 66, de Winnipeg. Bien hâte d’entendre la suite de This Hisses.

Une écoute noire de Félix B. Desfossés
- Bande A Part

Statuesque and fashionable, This Hisses frontwoman Julia Ryckman comes across like a rock and roll femme fatale. But not far beneath that exterior lies an intelligent, thoughtful songwriter, giving the band a sense of purpose and importance beyond just looking cool.


This Hisses’ 2011 debut album Surf Noir lived up to its title, combining wicked grooves with dark (and often very loud) performance, concealing lyrics about the darker side of human nature. We learned about its origins, including Ryckman’s history singing opera, and their upcoming sophomore record.

This Hisses will perform at this year’s NXNE Festival on Saturday June 16 (8 p.m. @ The Rochester).

According to my extensive research on Twitter, you're mixing your new album?

Yes. We just finished. We’re working out of Private Ear in Winnipeg, with a fantastic room for tracking and mixing. Matt Peters of Royal Canoe is producing and engineering the album. It’s called Anhedonia, nine songs, to be released next February.

While we were making Surf Noir, This Hisses was just a recording project. My band Gorgons had broken up and I brought in a few of my favourite musicians to record four [pre-existing] songs. We enjoyed it so much we knew it would keep going, but we didn’t have our sound figured out yet. Anhedonia is more like the epitome of our style.

Define “anhedonia” for us.

Anhedonia is a psychological state wherein a person in unable to experience pleasure in normal things, food, sex, socializing. The song with that title isn’t about that, more trying to achieve connection with other people but it all crashing down, people not responding to your warm advances.

Do you have a fixed idea of what all your songs mean?

There’s always pretty specific emotions and ideas that I’m wrestling with. The lyrics are all very deliberate.

This will be the first This Hisses record without songs carried over. How has the full-band songwriting effected your sound?

Those four songs did change, became renewed. Right now songwriting is pretty 50-50 between myself and [guitarist] Patrick Short. But our drummer J.P. Perron is amazing with structures. He’s the one who sits down and says “Okay, does this part of the song work?” So much of how I’ll perform a song is connected to his drumming. Before I started to play with him I had a music-crush on his drumming. And he’s the most amazingly poetic live performer – jumping off the stool, flailing arms. A powerhouse. - Toro Magazine

One Track Mind: This Hisses – Surf Noir – Gold On Fire

By Natalie Zina Walschots
Grungy, seductive, and lusciously poisonous, Winnipeg’s This Hisses are a band I have been aching to see live for ages. They are often categorized as surf rock – as their album title Surf Noir alludes to – but there is more sepia than sunblock in their sound, as much cabaret as beach. Vocalist Julia Ryckman is a former opera singer, and her powerful voice has a maple smokiness and can suddenly turn sharp as a broken bottle. “Gold On Fire” is an ominous, throbbing track that threads its way sinuously around the listener’s throat before suddenly tightening like a merciless noose. The organic, grooving drums roll and crash like a blue-black tide coming in at midnight, and the fuzzed-out guitar tone conjures a kind of distortion somewhere between the romantic sensation of gazing tinted glass, and the panic of trying to see through a film of blood. Hypnotic and haunting, a smouldering sucker punch of a song. - This Magazine

This Hisses

The Rochester - Saturday, June 16. 8 p.m.

This Hisses drummer JP Perron (ex-Mahogany Frog) attacks his kit like he’s the spawn of Keith Moon and Animal from the Muppets. An entertaining timekeeper isn’t enough to make a band great though, and luckily Perron and his bandmates - lead singer-bassist Julia Ryckman (Slattern, The Gorgon) and guitarist Pat Short (Electric Candles, Under Pressure) - have solid material. With a modus operandi of writing dramatic songs that are heavy and loud without being abrasive, this two-and-a-half-year-old band’s sound is best described by the title of its debut album: Surf Noir. Come for the drummer, stay for the awesome songs and captivating frontwoman. - Toronto Standard

By Luca Morellato
It's important to note that Winnipeg native's This Hisses are a group with tremendous amounts of skill, which they use to create fulfilling and exciting surf rock that fills their debut LP, Surf-Noir. The drumming and guitar playing are exquisite; they can transform a track that once simmered into a mass of reverb and cymbal crashes. Yet so much of this group's sound is indebted to vocalist/bassist Julia Ryckman's opera-trained voice, which travels between haunting bellows and a passionate chant. On "Keep What's Good In Your Heart," Ryckman filters Patti Smith through her vocal chords to create a stellar display of vocal control. Album highlight "Swagger" is rampant with surf rock themes, yet its tight guitar line and aggressive drumming are reminiscent of Gang of Four in their prime, displaying a rare side of This Hisses. Most of the tracks are either slow-burners or raging surf-rock, which keeps things interesting, allowing the album to flow. Surf-Noir is a stellar release that shows off exactly what This Hisses are capable of creating.
(Transistor 66) - EXCLAIM.ca

"It’s kind of funny," says operatic rock vocalist/songwriter/bassist Julia Ryckman (Slattern, Triunfo Do Gato) as she tacks up This Hisses Surf Noir CD/LP release gig posters with a stapler — ka-thunk, ka-thunk, ka-thunk, ka-thunk.

"At first we were trying not to lock into one genre," she says. Ka-thunk.

"With Surf Noir we’re trying to get a sense of something. A bit of a toe into something nostalgic, something spooky — both pretty and spooky. Sweetly disturbing."

Drummer JP Perron says he’s having a hell of a fun time playing in This Hisses.

"When I started out, I think I wanted it to be a fun band," says Perron (Unbelievable Bargains, ex-Mahogany Frog, [Bracket], Dead
Letters, Crown Nectar, Cyanaskesis Ensemble and We Put the Zip Back Into Fantastic).

"And it is. We work well together. We’re just really pushing each other. We originally got together — Julia, (guitarist) Pat Short (ex-Electric Candles, Soft Cops, Under Pressure) and I — to record the album. We did that a while ago now, and we’re still doing it. Playing with people who are solid — it’s great," Perron says.

"And we’re postering the streets like crazy for this show," Ryckman says. "We’re really trying to push advance tickets. They’re cheaper in advance, and you get five bucks off merch at the show."

The sizzlin’ This Hisses are on a bit of a roll. Ryckman says she got together with Short and Perron simply to record four tracks she had written for her previous Transistor 66 band, The Gorgon, after it split. The new trio did its take on Lycanthrope, Silver Dagger, Gold on Fire and Keep What’s Good in Your Heart and, at first, the songs sounded unusual to Ryckman. "Like they were moving forward… rapidly. They totally did them differently. After a while I really liked what they were doing," she says.

The chemistry between the three like-minded music makers clicked; the resultant full-length recording experiment with producer Matt Peters (Waking Eyes, Royal Canoe) worked, and now Surf Noir is here for you to hear.

"I met Matt Peters when I was doing a song for Mike Petkau Falk’s Record of the Week Club," Ryckman says. "He recorded Slattern and Triunfo Do Gato. I like how he records vocals, and I like how he talks to you during recording. He’s awesome."

Ryckman is no stranger to high quality when it comes to music — she attacks presentation and performance with relentless fervor. She says she studied classical music for piano and opera singing "from age five to age 25." Ryckman says she plays bass because, "it’s a lot like the left hand of the piano." After listening to Surf Noir, you might wonder if this is all just a walk in the park for the confident bassist/singer, but then when you ask her about her background she gets real serious.

"I still study opera — every week," she says.

So I had to ask: "Why do you play this kind of music?"

"I just got the feeling that I wanted to make my own music too," Ryckman says. "I liked the weird stuff, even in the opera world, but then two things happened. I was listening to a lot of world music and folk, which is a logical progression from classical music.

"And my brother Spaceship (Mike Ryckman, ex-Dead Dogs & more) gave me a Patti Smith LP — Radio Ethiopia. A little while later he introduced me to Suicide. After a while that’s all I wanted to do — make music inspired by those musicians."

Between all of her projects, Ryckman is at it every day. There’s no stopping her inspiration. She’s become a veteran touring performer, playing all over Canada and the U.S. as the one-woman band Slattern and doing several mini-jaunts across Canada, initially with The Gorgon and now with This Hisses.

And it just keeps on Hissing. "We did a Prairie loop in the fall. In August, we’re going to Montreal — then back west through the Prairies."

But for now, it’s celebration time at the Pyramid with Surf Noir!

"It’s pretty and spooky rock ’n’ roll," Ryckman says of the CD/LP, stressing that the project was completely conceived for release on vinyl.

"It’s very dynamic and loud. Very interesting to watch live."

Seet manitobamusic.com/artists/thishisses for more info, and you can hit THISHISSESNXNE.TRANSISTOR66.COM to download three free This Hisses songs.
THIS HISSES CD-RELEASE PARTY
July 23, Pyramid Cabaret
w/ The Girth, The Lonely Vulcans - The Uptown

“I coined it,” says guitarist Pat Short, referring to his surf noir sound. “I just thought of it like The Birthday Party (’70s gothic rock) meets Dick Dale (American surf rock guitarist).”

“We’ll play a really pretty ballad but with really dark undertones,” adds drummer JP Perron. “There’s Pat’s distortion and feedback and I’m hitting really hard, so everything will just be a bit sinister.”

Released through local label Transistor 66, Surf Noir’s stunning/spooky sound isn’t just the product of Short’s moody melodies and Perron’s hard hitting style, but also Julia Ryckman’s angelic yet eerie voice. In fact, Ryckman, who also handles bass in the band, is a classically-trained opera singer.

“In opera there’s a lot of horror, drama, death and violence and then there’s also beautiful love songs,” Ryckman says.

“In classical voice, the Italian term for a good sound is chiaroscuros, which means the light and the dark together.”

Produced by Royal Canoe/The Waking Eyes member Matt Peters, Surf Noir has earned This Hisses quite the local buzz, even topping the CKUW 95.9 FM albums chart for the week of July 12-18. With recent big gigs at the Osborne Street Festival, the Winnipeg Jazz Festival and Toronto’s North by Northeast Music Festival and Conference, it looks like This Hisses delight despair is really resonating.

“Someone said we should be selling our music to True Blood,” Ryckman says.

This Hisses officially release Surf Noir on Saturday at The Pyramid Cabaret.

Tickets are $10 at Into the Music, Music Trader, Kustom Kulture, Urban Waves or $12 at the door.

Fellow Winnipeg rockers The Lonely Vulcans and The Girth support. Show time is 10 pm.
More about Backstage Pass , Jared Story - The Metro

The Uniter at NXNE
Five hundred bands take over Toronto for festival, including 16 acts from Manitoba
by Staff

Over 600 bands are in Toronto this week for Canada’s largest music festival and industry conference, including 16 acts from Manitoba.

Featuring an industry conference and music festival with performances by established and emerging artists in more than 40 different downtown venues, North by Northeast (NXNE) started Monday, June 13 and runs until Sunday, June 20.

The group of Manitoba artists showcasing at NXNE 2011 includes soul-pop duo Imaginary Cities, indie rock bands The Details and Enjoy Your Pumas, singer-songwriters Ingrid Gatin, Gt. Dane and Greg MacPherson, surf-noir power trio This Hisses, hip-hop act Magnum K.I., electro-pop band Goldenboy and electronic acts Cyclist and Joe Silva.

Uniter managing editor Aaron Epp is in Toronto to cover the event. Stay tuned to his blog at www.uniter.ca/blog for updates, as well as his twitter feed at www.twitter.com/aaronepp.

“Industry events such as NXNE are vital to the market development and career advancement of Manitoba artists and industry professionals,” according to a Manitoba Music media release.

“Manitoba Music and Manitoba Film & Music provide financial support and travel assistance through the Market Access Program. The purpose of the jointly-funded program is to support Manitoba artists and music industry professionals in professional development, and in attending and enhancing their presence at professionally organized music industry conference and showcases.”

NXNE 2011 will also feature performances by the likes of Devo, Descendants, Fucked Up, Men Without Hats, Chad VanGaalen, Library Voices, Diamond Rings, PS I Love You, Braids, Hot Water Music and Shad.

Visit www.nxne.com for details.

MANITOBA LINEUP AT NXNE 2011??

Manitoba Showcase ?Thursday, June 16 – Gladstone Hotel Ballroom?

9 p.m. – This Hisses?
10 p.m. – Greg MacPherson
?11p.m. – The Details?
12 a.m. – Les Jupes
?1 a.m. – Cyclist

Other Manitoba Bands playing NXNE

?Ingrid Gatin – June 15 @ The Painted Lady – 8 p.m.
?Mise en Scene – June 15 @ The Painted Lady – 9 p.m.
The Seed Organization – June 15 @ Lula Lounge – 11:30 p.m. ?
Joe Silva – June 15 @ Lula Lounge – 1 a.m.
Gt. DANE – June 16 @ Bread & Circus – 8 p.m.?
Goldenboy – June 16 @ The Supermarket – 9 p.m.?
Magnum K.I. – June 16 @ Crawford – 10 p.m.
?Imaginary Cities – June 16 @ Rivoli – 11 p.m.?
Enjoy Your Pumas – June 17 @ Sneaky Dee’s – 9 p.m.
?Ian La Rue & the Heartbeat City – June 17 @ Bread & Circus – 11 p.m?.
Abstract Artform – June 17 @ Crawford – 12 a.m. - The Uniter

Just home from Toronto’s North by Northeast Music Festival, This Hisses played Old Market Square on June 18 to kick-off the Winnipeg Jazz Festival and have had a busy weekend touring their haunting surf sound – a genre that became the name of their upcoming debut album, Surf Noir.

Characterized by Julia Ryckman’s operatic voice and commanding presence, Patrick Short’s post-punk influenced grungy guitar riffs and JP Perron’s tempo-shifting, surf-style drumming, This Hisses have built a reputation as a band to watch.

However, when they first got together to jam, they didn’t even know they would be a band.

“It was purely a recording project at first, but the chemistry was so good we were like, no, this is a good band, we’re gonna do this all the way,” Ryckman says.

Wanting to get in the studio to lay down previously unrecorded songs from her last project, The Gorgon, Ryckman enlisted the help of former Mahogany Frog drummer Perron as well as Short, who played in Electric Candles and Under Pressure.

Since then the band has been signed to local label Transistor 66, and is set to release Surf Noir with a show at the Pyramid Cabaret on Saturday, July 23.

-This Hisses releases Surf Noir on Saturday, July 23 at the Pyramid Cabaret
-The Lonely Vulcans and The Girth will also perform
-Advance tickets are $10 at Into the Music, Music Trader, Kustom Kulture and Urban Waves, or $12 at the door
-Doors open at 10 p.m.
-Download three songs for free at http://bit.ly/ThisHisses
-Visit www.myspace.com/thishisses

Much of the band’s publicity so far has been about Ryckman putting her opera background to use in a garage rock context. Her study of voice at the Royal Conservatory of Music has influenced her songwriting and lyrics.

“A lot of my vocal melodies were written before the words, and the melody dictated the direction of the lyrics completely because there are certain parts in the song where I want a certain phrasing, so I need a certain vowel there to carry that phrase,” Ryckman says. “It’s not the only factor, but it’s a major factor in my lyrics writing.”

Another major influence in her lyrics is her degree in English literature, an accomplishment shared by Short.

“How you see the world is how you use words,” Ryckman says. “Symbolism and imagery, and how you put a sentence together is something that, having done an English degree, you can’t not think about.”

This Hisses was described by the host at the Old Market Square show as one of the most exciting bands in Winnipeg to watch live.

Certainly, a lot of that comes from Perron’s hyperactive drumming that’s visually somewhere between Keith Moon and Animal from The Muppets.

“We’re trying to take it as it comes right now,” Perron says of the band’s future plans.

“We’re trying to play good shows, and we practice a lot and try to make our shows really good for the audience and really good for us.” - The Uniter

One of the most talked about local bands this year has undeniably been This Hisses, and the debut LP (or is it an EP? At eight hearty songs, we’ll call it a full length) Surf Noir does not disappoint. The trio of bassist/vocalist Julia Ryckman, guitarist Patrick Short and drummer JP Perron have all done time in a handful of bands, making this disc feel as though all roads in those groups were leading up to this bit of surf rock majesty. Keep What’s Good In Your Heart is the sad strummer that James from Twin Peaks would pine about Donna to, while Bronzed Etiquette might play when Laura Palmer wanted to get freaky. Swagger gets frenetic, taking the listener on a paranormal boogie past the gates of hell, while closer Lycanthrope is the party you have when you arrive. A solid disc from one of our city’s most important new groups. - The Uniter

One of the most talked about local bands this year has undeniably been This Hisses, and the debut LP (or is it an EP? At eight hearty songs, we’ll call it a full length) Surf Noir does not disappoint. The trio of bassist/vocalist Julia Ryckman, guitarist Patrick Short and drummer JP Perron have all done time in a handful of bands, making this disc feel as though all roads in those groups were leading up to this bit of surf rock majesty. Keep What’s Good In Your Heart is the sad strummer that James from Twin Peaks would pine about Donna to, while Bronzed Etiquette might play when Laura Palmer wanted to get freaky. Swagger gets frenetic, taking the listener on a paranormal boogie past the gates of hell, while closer Lycanthrope is the party you have when you arrive. A solid disc from one of our city’s most important new groups. - The Uniter

One of Winnipeg’s most thrilling live acts is releasing their first full-length in July on local family label Transistor 66. I sat down at the Legion in the Exchange District with band members Julia Ryckman, J.P. Perron, and, later on, Patrick Short for some cheap beverages and to exchange a few words with this local trio regarding their highly-anticipated debut.

Stylus: To begin, out of curiosity I have got to know, why This Hisses and not The Hisses?
J.P. Perron: It’s kind of a weird iteration I guess, but not really. There is actually a funny quote addressing that on the new album. [Reads] When attempting to enunciate the group’s moniker, most tend to slur over the words carelessly, gurgling some incoherent mumble. However, such a cavalier introduction to This Hisses is calamitous at best.
Stylus: Brilliant and accurate, as I clearly demonstrated when this interview began.
JPP: Yeah I do that as well just the other day I called us The Hisses. People tend to like it though, however I can imagine that radio announcer would not.
Julia Ryckman: Also, ‘this’ is a word that hisses, which adds to our name.
Stylus: Each of you have been submerged in the Winnipeg music scene before with other acts such as The Gorgon [Julia], Mahogany Frog [J.P.] and Under Pressure and Electric Candles [Patrick Short]. But how did This Hisses come to be?
JR: When The Gorgon broke up, I had some songs I wanted to try and I thought of Pat because we had talked and jammed before. I also wanted to work with J.P. because he had always been my favourite drummer in Winnipeg and I knew he was available because he had just moved back from Montreal. I asked him at a party if he wanted to jam, but he was very guarded.
JPP: I knew both Pat and Julia before and was a fan of both their work and after the first jam we knew it was going somewhere. The first jam so amazing, we had like four songs written in the first session.
JR: At that point each of us knew it was a serious, focused band. I also really appreciate the experience aspect that we each bring to the table because we all collaborate equally and know we can rely on each other, kind of like a marriage I guess.
JPP: We put a lot into the band and each of us specialized in certain aspects and knew our strengths when it came creating the album.
Stylus: Yes, the new album! You were recently signed to local label Transistor 66. So when can we expect your full-length or EP?
JR: It’s a full-length and it will be available on vinyl, CD and digital download and it will be out on radio in June.
JPP: The album comes out July 23rd at the Pyramid Cabaret and was recorded last year at Private Ear with Matt Peters [Royal Canoe, the Waking Eyes].
JR: Matt mixed the album and also played a definite producer role. He understands the direction we want to go so he was great to work with.
JPP: Transistor 66 is full of great bands and people so we are excited to be on it and we worked extremely hard to make the album sound and look great.
Stylus: Your live show is insanely fun and quite the roller-coaster ride and you have made quite a name for yourself strictly based on your live performance. Could you explain the process of creating your setlists?
JPP: I find a good setlist keeps us guessing and makes the show more interesting. There was one show where Pat started to play the wrong song and we just went with it so we can still go with the flow and it turned out great at that particular show. But usually we have a plan.
JR: To vary the setlist also creates a different narrative and we always try a setlist out before the show, make alterations and try it again, so the whole process is very planned. I use to be in bands where we would write the setlist 20 minutes before the show but we do things differently.
Stylus: At a show the other night you mentioned a scene in Regina involving a sketchy hotel with an unconscious lady being carried by two burly dudes that sparked the lyrics for your song “Bad Vacation.” Does weird shit that happens on tour primarily influence songwriting?
JR: Well there are two parts to songwriting; I do all the lyric writing but the actual song construction is pretty balanced between Pat and I, but J.P. will give the song a lot of structure after it has taken some shape.
Patrick Short: I bring in the riffs.
JPP: Generally a jam session involves a lot of wine in the basement and then we just go to it, with Pat generally leaving late to go work the graveyard shift. I kind of just add the drums once the song has begun to take shape.
JR: In terms of lyrics I would say my lyrics are autobiographical and generally stem from an intense emotional experience. In the song you mentioned, “Bad Vacation,” we were on tour in the middle of winter and ran out of gas outside Regina. We ended up in a sketchy motel after some very expensive gas was sold to us and after a huge fight erupted outside the hotel. Our room was trashed and when we finally got settled in, we see these two - Stylus

The debut album is called Surf Noir and the band is playing at the beach this weekend, but This Hisses isn't your typical summertime-fun music.
The Winnipeg band came up with the "surf noir" genre as a way to describe itself when all other descriptions failed. There isn't much surf guitar in the trio's sound, but the dark, post-punk-meets-garage rock vibe created by the group definitely fits the noir description.
"We didn't want to get locked into a genre, so we coined that term. We were arguing about what we could say about the style and (guitarist) Pat (Short) said, 'I think it sounds like surf noir.' Pat thought he invented that term, but we looked on the Internet and there are other bands using that description," vocalist-bassist Julia Ryckman says with a laugh.
The band -- Ryckman, Short and drummer JP Perron -- released its debut album at the Pyramid Cabaret on Saturday with a full production that included projections of specially made backing videos. They will get into the daylight on Saturday with a set at Islendingadagurinn in Gimli -- a fitting locale, since some of This Hisses music wouldn't sound out of place in a surrealist Guy Maddin feature like Tales from the Gimli Hospital.
"Even though we don't have the night sky and the darkness, we will still bring our esthetic and energy," says Ryckman, who counts herself as one-quarter Icelandic, based on her grandmother's heritage.
The cultural backgrounds of her bandmates wasn't discussed, but Ryckman, a veteran of the local scene, chose Short and Perron to form the project with her a year after her celebrated all-female rock group the Gorgon called it quits.
Although she continued to perform solo as Slattern and as a duo with Rob Vilar in Triunfo Do Gato, she had four unreleased Gorgon-era songs written she felt needed a full-band treatment.
She called up her future bandmates -- who have been part of groups such as Mahogany Frog, Dead Letters, Electric Candles and Under Pressure --15 months ago with the possibility of just jamming a bit and recording the songs, but after a couple of sessions together the three realized they should continue as a full-fledged group.
"We've all been in bands for so long, we have a good sense of what we want to do individually and figured out what we wanted our sound to be," Ryckman says. "We had a good sense right away of what we liked artistically and what we would do as a group."
Part of that is mixing in some delicate, pretty melodies to counter the band's dark side, ensuring there is a balance, Ryckman says.
And she should know what she's talking about.
The 31-year-old is a classically trained opera singer who has been studying the Italian method with local instructors Diane Berger and Valdine Anderson for 19 years. There was even a time when Ryckman considered pursuing opera as a career, but heavy competition among female vocalists and her love of rock music ensured it stayed a hobby and labour of love.
Needless to say, she is a standout vocalist who possesses a unique voice in the local music scene.
"I love studying opera but this I what I like to do, and I like taking what I know about classical music and making it contemporary," she says. "Even to sing rock music you need to have technique. I really feel classical singing technique is the best, and within classic music I think the Italian method is the best: it goes back hundreds and hundreds of years."
People heading up to Gimli for the 122nd annual Islendingadagurinn can see for themselves when This Hisses plays a free show at The Pier Saturday on a bill that includes Yoyote, the Liptonians and Royal Canoe. - Winnipeg Free Press

The local trio released their debut album this summer and even with the massive amount of hype surrounding the band and this release, This Hisses deliver! Everyone has probably seen this band perform live at one point or another and therefore is surely aware of the incredible energy this act brings to the stage. Amazingly on the record this energy transitions quite well. “Lycanthrope” starts of the album nicely with a haunting howl and shredding guitar followed by the equally exciting “Bad Vacation” – the latter song by the way, has a pretty awesome back-story behind it evolving a sketchy motel in Regina. The listener is brought right back down to ground state with a couple of nicely slowed down tracks, especially the stellar “Keep What’s Good In Your Heart” which smooth things over before the listener is shot right back into a circle pit of intensity with the upbeat and catchy “Swagger” and “Silver Dagger.” My only problem with Surf Noir is that I feel like the bass is drowned out by the guitar a lot of the time, I personally love the fat bass lines captured in the live show but it seems at times on the album the guitar steals the show, not that that’s a bad thing but as a bass player I am totally biased in that respect. Oh yeah and one more fucking problem… it’s over to soon, eight beefy songs is nothing to complain about but I for one am going to need more in the near future. (Transistor 66, www.transistor66.com) Scott Wolfe for Stylus Magazine
sheldon birnie on 04 Oct 2011 | REVIEWS | Comments (0) - Stylus

By Jared Story

Transistor 66’s "happily dysfunctional family" just got bigger. The local label recently added rockabilly vets The Farrell Bros., garage rock and/or rollers The Vibrating Beds and this week’s One to Watch, This Hisses, to its rawking roster.

Formed in February 2010, This Hisses features vocalist/bassist Julia Ryckman (Slattern, ex-The Gorgon), guitarist Pat Short (Electric Candles, ex-Under Pressure) and drummer JP Perron (ex-Mahogany Frog).

"The Gorgon broke up (in 2009) and I was really sad because we had songs we hadn’t recorded," says Ryckman, 30. "The way the band disintegrated, no one seemed to have the energy to record or do a final show, so I decided I would find some people to record some of the songs that I had written. I got Pat, and I knew JP through social circles, he had always been my favourite drummer ever, and we got together."

It may have formed from the ashes of the three-headed girl-grunge beast, but This Hisses isn’t anything like The Gorgon.

"We don’t play power chords, we’re spookier," says Short, 27.

"I loved working with Jennifer (Alexander) and Alana (Mercer) in The Gorgon but working with new musicians, the songs totally changed," Ryckman says. "It’s changed how I sing, the phrasing, the momentum, the drama of the pieces. I would say that the songs..."

"Got gothier," Short chimes in.

"They got louder and more powerful and more dramatic," Ryckman says. "The way The Gorgon did them was very satisfying and wonderful, but (with this band) they just turned into a monster."

Listen to the band’s tunes at www.myspace.com/thishisses and you’ll hear why Ryckman and Short use words such as ‘spooky,’ ‘goth’ and ‘dramatic’ to describe the noise they make. It’s chilling yet charming stuff, the product of a classically trained opera singer, a maniac skinsman and a guitarist more focused on mood and melody than busting a riff.

"I wanted to be in a band that was more dynamic," Short says. "I used to play in a lot of hardcore bands and I got really sick of it because all you play is power chords all the time, so I thought it would be nice to play guitar and play barely any power chords, and try to make a lot more stuff happen with reverb and delay and playing melodies. I got really sick of just blasting all the time."

Hear This Hisses live on Feb. 18 at Lo Pub, a show in support of CKUW’s FUNdrive and the Vibrating Beds’ seven-inch release. The trio plans to release its own record, a full-length recorded last April at Private Ear Recording with Matt Peters of The Waking Eyes and Royal Canoe, by early summer. In the meantime, This Hisses head west in May, as part of Weird Canada’s Wyrd Fest, a traveling fringe-music extravaganza - Uptown

THIS HISSES
With a chosen modus operandi of writing dramatic songs that are heavy and loud without being abrasive, the one-year-old surf-noir band This Hisses has already made a big impression on Winnipeg audiences.

Lead singer-bassist Julia Ryckman (Slattern), guitarist Pat Short (Electric Candles, Under Pressure) and drummer JP Perron (ex-Mahogany Frog) have stunned audiences with their electrifying live performance, thanks to Ryckman’s always commanding presence and the antics of Perron (disclosure: he’s The Uniter’s listings co-ordinator), who makes Keith Moon look calm.

The band’s debut full-length, which they’ll release on vinyl later this year, was recorded last April at Private Ear with producer and Royal Canoe frontman Matt Peters.

You can see them live on Friday, Feb. 18 at the Lo Pub.

With any luck, This Hisses will not go the way of The Gorgon – Ryckman’s previous power trio – and they’ll be with us for a while.

Visit http://www.myspace.com/thishisses.

- The Uniter

DAY 6 – WINNIPEG
August 14th, 2010
The drive from TB to Winnipeg was not anywhere near as interesting. Though Winnipeg is a cool city, there are an absurd amt of one way streets which is always a drag. Straight away to the Royal Albert Arms. We’d be told on several occasions to keep all eyes on gear as the “peg” had a reputation for being rough around the edges and attracting seedy characters. Our experience was nothing short of fun, all the patrons and show goers we met were super friendly. They however admitted to some drastic changes made to the neighborhood. Some dude named Jared told us a story of a guy who was disemboweled at the hotel upstairs. Apparently Susan Sarandon had a whackload of jewelery stolen and somehow some of it ended up at the crime scene next to body parts. The venue was built in 1909 and has been hosting shows for 30 years, some notable mentions – Nirvana, Green Day and The Mentors – whose show lasted half a song before the show erupted into violence and were then subsequently banned from the city of Winnipeg.


The Royal Albert Arms - Winnipeg, MB
Around 9:30 the other bands showed up. THIS HISSES featuring frontwoman Julia Ryckman (ex-The Gorgon) would be opening the show that evening, and Breath Grenades.. a 25-year old legendary Winnipeg band that lurk in the shadows and are extremely selective as to when they play.

First up were This Hisses, a really serious and brand new band. Some similar bands that spring to mind, X minus John Doe and the band Rex. Julia has a beautiful/powerful voice and rips solid basslines, Pat (guitarist) was impressive and was rocking a cool fender twin reverb and JP was an animal behind the kit.. dude banged the snot out of the skins.


This Hisses - Winnipeg, MB @ The Royal Albert Arms - August 9th, 2010
We played a fun set. The sound dude was great as was the sound on stage. Great venue.


Lastly were Breath Grenades, WOW! These guys pumped out a setlist that reminded us of demented Circus music. Sadly these guys have a repupation for shying away from music media sources so it’s difficult to find their music however Don (the frontman/bassist) was kind enough to set us up with a rare copy of their CD (over 10 yrs old). They consist of a drummer/keyboardist and bassist.. mind blowing stuff – our kind of set for sure. Super weird, lots of noise and wild melodies, totally off the cuff. Some of the most original/wild shit we’ve seen played on a bass guitar.

Breath Grenades - Winnipeg, MB @ The Royal Albert Arms - August 9th, 2010
Great turnout for a Tuesday.. a total honor to play on this bill. Special thanks to Julia for booking/promoting and playing the show… she is the goto person for cool shit in Winnipeg. - Exclaim.ca

DAY 6 – WINNIPEG
August 14th, 2010
The drive from TB to Winnipeg was not anywhere near as interesting. Though Winnipeg is a cool city, there are an absurd amt of one way streets which is always a drag. Straight away to the Royal Albert Arms. We’d be told on several occasions to keep all eyes on gear as the “peg” had a reputation for being rough around the edges and attracting seedy characters. Our experience was nothing short of fun, all the patrons and show goers we met were super friendly. They however admitted to some drastic changes made to the neighborhood. Some dude named Jared told us a story of a guy who was disemboweled at the hotel upstairs. Apparently Susan Sarandon had a whackload of jewelery stolen and somehow some of it ended up at the crime scene next to body parts. The venue was built in 1909 and has been hosting shows for 30 years, some notable mentions – Nirvana, Green Day and The Mentors – whose show lasted half a song before the show erupted into violence and were then subsequently banned from the city of Winnipeg.


The Royal Albert Arms - Winnipeg, MB
Around 9:30 the other bands showed up. THIS HISSES featuring frontwoman Julia Ryckman (ex-The Gorgon) would be opening the show that evening, and Breath Grenades.. a 25-year old legendary Winnipeg band that lurk in the shadows and are extremely selective as to when they play.

First up were This Hisses, a really serious and brand new band. Some similar bands that spring to mind, X minus John Doe and the band Rex. Julia has a beautiful/powerful voice and rips solid basslines, Pat (guitarist) was impressive and was rocking a cool fender twin reverb and JP was an animal behind the kit.. dude banged the snot out of the skins.


This Hisses - Winnipeg, MB @ The Royal Albert Arms - August 9th, 2010
We played a fun set. The sound dude was great as was the sound on stage. Great venue.


Lastly were Breath Grenades, WOW! These guys pumped out a setlist that reminded us of demented Circus music. Sadly these guys have a repupation for shying away from music media sources so it’s difficult to find their music however Don (the frontman/bassist) was kind enough to set us up with a rare copy of their CD (over 10 yrs old). They consist of a drummer/keyboardist and bassist.. mind blowing stuff – our kind of set for sure. Super weird, lots of noise and wild melodies, totally off the cuff. Some of the most original/wild shit we’ve seen played on a bass guitar.

Breath Grenades - Winnipeg, MB @ The Royal Albert Arms - August 9th, 2010
Great turnout for a Tuesday.. a total honor to play on this bill. Special thanks to Julia for booking/promoting and playing the show… she is the goto person for cool shit in Winnipeg. - Exclaim.ca