Faux Canada

“Stockton” opens the new EP, Liars’ Teeth, from San Francisco quartet Faux Canada. Its fleeting, sporadic guitars mesh with a melodically charismatic vocal presence, with bass and drums filling in the blanks. Guitars and vocals become more frequent during the second track, especially during the catchy “I know what you wanna do,” vocal hook.

The band cite “the early 2000’s Secretly Canadian lineup of indie rockers,” as a big influence on their general sound, which makes sense considering the band’s aptitude for centering on a contagious rock sound, though with elements of shoegaze, grunge, and electronica seeping in. Specifically, “Stockton” takes a cue from Pavement and other acts in that slacker-rock ilk. In fact, the name “Stockton” pays tribute to Pavement, as it’s the name of the town Pavement was formed, as well as Faux Canada lead singer Melinda Wegent’s hometown. Per the band, the track is “a loving ode to the bad decisions and claustrophobic ennui of a small-town high school summer.” - Obscure Sound

San Francisco based Faux Canada is an indie-pop-rock combo with members coming from local bands My First Earthquake, Crashfaster, and Sir Salvatore. Taking retro or classic riffs and sounds, then giving them a modern twist is very much their forte, as you can hear on Comedown.

Shoegaze, grunge, indie-pop and some wonderful vocal performances lift Comedown to the heights. There’s a rich, light melody that creates a hazy tone around the more edgy lyrics, giving off a C86 feel but with added brio and sheen. Most of all there’s a real sense of fun, that the band are enjoying themselves, the song and making music.

Comedown is available to download on Bandcamp and is the first single off their upcoming EP which is due out this May; something they describe as a ’sort of a love letter to the 90s.’ You can get details about the EP as well as tour dates and more by following them on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. - Analogue Trash

Faux Canada is an SF indie band comprised of members of My First Earthquake, Sir Salvatore, and Crashfaster. According to the band’s bio, their influences include elements of 90’s shoegaze, grunge, and electro-lounge, all wrapped up in an energetic pop sheen. They recently released an EP entitled Copies Fading and have a show coming up at Brick and Mortar on April 4.

They reached out to see to get the word out so we took the opportunity to ask them a few questions. We wanted to know how they came up with the band name, what’s the strangest thing that’s happened to them at a show, and what their favorite neighborhoods are in the city.

How’d you come up with the band name?

Alex: Dave and I were both born in Canada but never grew up there, so the band name is a little play on words that hints at an identity which doesn’t span beyond a passport. Also, it sounds like the infectious intro line of the country’s national anthem-♪”Oh Canada…”♬ To be Canadian has a delightfully awkward place in Americana. To be a faux Canadian is like an abstraction of that, which enables us to selectively take the elements we love without having to apologize for it. Maple syrup!

How would you describe your sound?

Kevin: In terms of a genre we’re in the “uptempo indie rock/pop” category. There are lots of other influences in there, from 90s alternative to 00s indie to 70s funk and classic rock, but indie rock is our umbrella term. More poetically, we like to say our sound is like the feeling of showing up at a raucous house-party and getting pulled into a closet by your secret crush.

Dave: I like to say it’s like an AMC Gremlin getting a hover conversion. Classic indie for modern times.

When did you first become interested in playing music?

Kevin: According to my parents, I was singing along to commercial jingles since before I could talk, so I guess it’s always been there.

Melinda: When I was a young lass, I wanted to be a lounge singer with long, sparkly gloves, lying on top of a big ole’ glossy piano singing into a bedazzled microphone. I was expressive as hell in the company of close family but pretty shy around anyone else. I jammed with friends for years before I started singing in bands.

Dave: I’ve always enjoyed performing music – I was in a traveling boys choir when I was younger and played viola in the school orchestra. However, what inspired me to *write* music and pick up a guitar was discovering all the great early 90s grunge and alternative on the radio.

What’s the strangest thing that’s ever happened to you at a show?

Melinda: We opened for a burlesque act where a woman mixed a cocktail with her *cough* vagina. It wasn’t half as strange as it was inspiring.

Dave: Not a show I was performing in, but Les Savy Fav was playing and some unhappy resident decided to pull the fire alarm to get them to stop. Everyone ended up standing around outside and Tim Harrington ended up leading everyone in a massive game of duck duck goose.

What are you listening to these days?

Kevin: We’re all hugely influenced by Broken Social Scene, so we’re loving their new album. I love all sorts of indie rock across the spectrum, from Alvvays to the War on Drugs. Local acts like Day Wave and Jay Som are killing it. Moses Sumney’s Aromanticism album is this pristine work of art that needs to be experienced firsthand to be believed. And of course, we’re all obsessed with SZA, so much so that we’re covering one of her songs in our set. We all have really diverse and eclectic tastes, which is part of what makes creating music together so much fun.

Melinda: Right now, I have a huge crush on Ian Sweet, Diet Cig, Waxahatchee, and Jay Som. Frequently indulging in SZA’s and Rhianna’s most recent albums and I haven’t stopped listening to the self-titled Sales [LP] album since it came out in 2016.

Dave: I’m currently really enjoying U.S. Girls, Against All Logic, and Karl Hector & The Malcouns.

You’re playing Brick and Mortar in April, what can we expect at your show?

Kevin: We have a ton of fun playing together, and that energy and happiness are what we bring to our shows. We’re just a bunch of dorks who love music, and the fact that we get to share that love with an audience is just the coolest thing ever.

Melinda: Long, sparkly gloves.

What’s your take on all the live music clubs closing in the city and people calling the San Francisco music scene dead?

Kevin: The music scene here will never die, though it may have to go into hibernation for awhile from time to time. I’ve lived here for over 10 years and have definitely seen how the tech boom has priced out so many artists and venues, but I’ve also seen how many people are still around fighting to keep the fire burning. It’s incredibly inspiring. And happily, the scene across the bay in Oakland is picking up the slack and keeping things interesting.

Melinda: The city’s changing, man. It’s been changing for a long time. It’s always a sad day when an establishment you love shutters down, but the music scene isn’t dead. The music scene, like the way we listen to and where we go to experience new music, even how we play and produce it, is constantly changing. We just want to continue making music and being part of that scene whether it’s waxing or waning.

What does music mean to you?

Melinda: Music is my safety blanket. I can always trust music to understand me anywhere I am. There is a type of music for every mood and it helps me crawl out of the moods that suck. Newness from Angelo De Augustine, Hamilton Leithauser, and eventually LCD Soundsystem pulled me out of a serious funk last fall/winter. Thanks, dudes!

Dave: Music has soundtracked the ups and downs of my life and there’s a perfect song for every occasion. When I hear a song, I think things like, “This would go great while walking the streets of Hong Kong solo” or “This should be the 3rd song played at a funeral.”

What’s your favorite neighborhood in the city and why?

Kevin: My low-key favorite is North Beach, which surprises even me. When I first moved here I thought it was just a tourist trap full of drunk assholes. And it is. But it’s also full of this amazing energy that you can’t get anywhere else in the City. There’s this NYC/European feel to everything that somehow also manages to be uniquely San Francisco. All the crazy history of the City–from the Beats to the Barbary Coast–is right up in your face when you’re there.I also really love the Outer Mission–it’s my hidden gem neighborhood, and I don’t want to say much more about it because I want it to stay a hidden gem.

Melinda: I love the Embarcadero. I don’t know if there is a name for that “neighborhood,” but I’m a sucker for cinematic, lazy strolls, unique architecture, and amazing people watching.

What’s one thing that people would be surprised to find out about you?

Melinda: I love rats. I think they are adorable and hilarious, but I super don’t want to be close to one. Seriously, please tell me all your rat jokes and send me every meme.

Alex: I once had a pair of Jordans stolen by a pack of young adolescents in Brazil. I was wearing them at the time!

Faux Canada plays the Brick And Mortar Music Hall // Wed Apr 4 2018 // 8:00 PM (Doors 7:00 PM) // $7 ADV / $10 DOS // Ages 18+ - Music In SF

San Fran indie-poppers Faux Canada sent over the peppy “Projector” and we’ve been hooked ever since. We’re not sure what to love more, the spacey, squiggly keyboards that squiggle their way through the song, or the delightfully spastic guitar riffs that propel “Projector” forth. Either way, we’re pretty sure it’s impossible to listen to this song without a big smile on your face. Check it out below. - Buffablog

San Francisco indie-pop quartet Faux Canada is comprised of members My First Earthquake, Crashfaster, and Sir Salvatore. With mutual admiration for Secretly Canadian’s roster in the early ’00s, the band channels a similar sort of sound on new track “Projector”, where lush string-laden synths combine with fleeting guitar-pop and alluring vocal lead, reminiscent of Stars. Aptly described by the band as “propulsive beats meet light math rock”, the track’s primary hook – “the coffee’s fading…” – is a slick maneuver, reminding of a more caffeinated TOPS. The track’s theme, per the lead singer, is “about parallel universes and trying to keep track of the versions of the people you love.” Catchy with a nice balance of synths and guitars, “Projector” is a solid one from Faux Canada. - Obscure Sound

If you loved the Secretly Canadian record label of the early 2000s, you’re going to dig this. I wonder if that’s where the name comes from? In any case, the San Francisco indie-pop-rock foursome sounds as fresh and new with fine knowledge of where they came from. It’s whimsical, and a serious signpost to where the next generation of guitar bands will sound like. - That Eric Alper

From the the rubbery bass, to the coo-ing vocals – “Projector” screams 90–early 2000’s indie pop in all the best ways. To say that fuxcanada is just a nostolgia act would bring the band a great disservice however, from their angular guitar sounds to their syrupy synth strings, they’re really bringing something new and fresh to the sound by making it their own. - Pop Occulture

Faux Canada is an SF indie-pop-rock foursome from members of My First Earthquake, Crashfaster and Sir Salvatore. Heavily inspired by the early 2000’s Secretly Canadian lineup of indie rockers, their influences also include elements of 90’s shoegaze, grunge, and electro-lounge, all wrapped up in an energetic pop sheen.

Listen to their track, Projector, from their new EP titled Copies Fading above. - BIRP.FM

Despite exuding the unfettered masculinity of a thousand Trojan warriors (not) I cannot help feel motherly towards San Francisco based, Faux Canada. Like a doting matriarch, I have been keeping a very close eye on them for a number of their formative musical years, hoping nothing goes wrong and that they develop their full potential.

Initially there was a tear in my eye observing trembling baby steps with the 2013 debut release, Exploding Secret Laughter EP. I could see that the muted jangle in this release was abundant with childlike potential but, as is the way with toddlers, their sense of direction was not fully formed as they clumsily bumped around with strange electronic bloopage in their tracks.

Their bruised bums began to heal with their next single release, The Day We Became Houseguests / Hooray This Projector (2014). Here their musical muscles began to develop to some extent, reducing the need to hold onto the electronic musical hand rail and just becoming more confident in their musical movement. There was still some strange French popisms apparent, but they were now becoming engulfed by a less toddler like physique that was asserting a definitive personality.

For two and a half year this musical child was allowed to grow, eventually emerging as a pubescent with a bit of attitude in the 2016 single Cuddly / Great Expectations. Now with its own views and an attitude of independence, the first steps to fully fledged musical adulthood were taken with the development of a muted jangled signature guitar sound, that was juxtaposed with all that is purposely fashionable about the indie-pop aesthetic.

Finally, November 2017 saw the Copies Fading EP force me to scrabble for the tissue box to wipe away motherly tears of pride as Faux Canada rewarded my wait and maternal longing for them to develop into a musical grown up I could be proud of. In this EP all the bells and whistles and seemingly 'cool inflections' are removed to leave a sound that is unmistakably there own and that will appeal to most jangle-pop, indie-pop and even lo-fi bedroom pop fans.

In tracks such as Wildcat (see above) and Friends Don't Lie (below), Faux Canada have arrived at musical maturity and perhaps don't need the hairiest mommy they could ever endure anymore? Either way I will definitely still be watching. - Jangle Pop Hub

US outfit take us back to the 00s indie sound with this loveable garage-rock release - Mystic Sons

Are you yearning to see an awesome psych rock show this week?? This Wednesday, Bay Area darlings Disappearing People and Faux Canada will be joining New Zealand psych-pop act Connan Mockisan at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco. Opening the show is indie-pop trio, Faux Canada, who embrace synthesizers and give an electronic update to indie rock bands of yore. Oakland’s duo, Disappearing People will change the pace of the show, blending elements of psych-rock and fuzzed-out lo-fi music to create durational musical compositions. This band is nothing short of trippy. And last but not least, there’s the headliner Connan Mockisan who has made it to California from across the pond. Mockisan crafts slowly building, twee-like, psych-pop. The artist has been making waves with his most recent album, Caramel. That said, catch Mockisan before he flees the states! - The Deli Magazine SF

New Zealand's Connan Mockasin will be hitting Bottom of the Hill this Wednesday with Oakland's experimental lo-fi duo Disappearing People and San Francisco's electro pop project Faux Canada.

Connan Mockasin (born Connan Tant Hosford) just released Caramel in November via Mexican Summer. The new album is a spacey psych pop sensorium, wherein Mockasin wails and waxes on human sensuality. Recorded over a month in a Tokyo hotel room following a family crisis, Caramel pursues the same velvety texture as the word inspires - he maintains that he wrote the album to sound as smooth as the word suggests.

The live performance promises to be as unpredictable as is true to Mockasin's form. His shows forego set lists in pursuit of an original performance every time. Rather, Connan Mockasin sets out to cater to each city's audience.

Grab your advance tickets via Bottom of the Hill's website and check out a track from Caramel below in the meantime. - The Bay Bridged

Today's installment of 480 Minutes will feature new music by AM & Shawn Lee (Los Angeles, CA/London, England), Blank Realm (Brisbane, Australia), The Blank Tapes (Los Angeles, CA), Brothers In Law (Pesaro, Italy), The Child of Lov (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), CHURCHES (Oakland, CA), City Light (San Francisco, CA), Danny Malone (Austin, TX), Deerhunter (Atlanta, GA), Faux Canada (San Francisco, CA), Hockey (Brooklyn, NY), Jamaican Queens (Detroit, MI), Moon King (Toronto, Canada), Musique Le Pop (Fredrikstad, Norway), Sam Vicari (Chicago, IL), Sonen (Atlanta, GA), Twin Tigers (Athens, GA), and Underground Lovers (Melbourne, Australia). Do tune in and get in touch during the live hosted show (9a-5p Pacific Time) with your requests and comments. - SomaFM

Another brand new record making its debut on the “Monday Night Pop!” show this week was “A Coruja” from Faux Canada’s brand new EP “Exploding Secret Laughter. Faux Canada is the new project from David Lean formerly of the SF “dorkpop” band My First Earthquake. Listening to this EP you can really hear where a lot of My First Earthquake’s pop sensibility came from because it is all over this record. And to put the cherry on top, David enlisted his former bandmate, and current vocalist in Happy Fangs, Rebecca “Gone Bad” Bortmann to sing the middle verses. I’m really diggin’ this record, so you are sure to hear more in coming weeks. - Radio Valencia

Indie Rock music has been very popular in the past years and it doesn’t seem to be stopping just yet. Bands like Arcade Fire, The Wombats and Arctic Monkeys are still active and touring.

You don’t actually think about San Francisco when you think indie so we were pleasantly surprised when we discovered Faux Canada. The band was founded in 2012 in San Francisco and released their first EP “Exploding Secret Laughter” in February 2013. Current members are David Lean, Alejandro Soini and Elizabeth Brooks-Sigala.

They sound original and exciting so we plan to keep a good eye on them for the next years. - The Avenue

I’ve spent the best part of six hours at the time of writing listening to Exploding Secret Laughter. That’s Faux Canada‘s debut EP, not… well, whatever it may literally be. After these six hours or so, I can confirm a few things: I’m still infatuated with Rebecca Bortman, I still very much miss My First Earthquake, and I absolutely adore Faux Canada.

They’re a little more accessible than MFE were way back when it was 2009. It’s former My First Earthquake-member Dave ‘The Anti-Rave’ Lean who has emerged from the rubble of the split to form Faux Canada and take the microphone. Chad and Andre haven’t re-entered the music world as of yet, as their respective new babies sadly need their fathers to take sabbaticals from being awesome musicians.

Bortman – the person you wish you could be – has managed to make an appearance on Exploding Secret Laughter however. She lends her vocals in a surprisingly delicate turn to the wonderfully summer-suited track ‘A Coruja’ in a substantial way. With her own project Happy Fangs well under way however (I’ve been reliably informed by Bortman that herself and Michael Cobra are heading back into a studio very soon), her appearance in Faux Canada is a fleeting one.

Quite alright though, because Dave – with the help of Alejandro Soini, who was a former band-mate of Dave’s in Sir Salvatore - has created something pretty spectacular in Faux Canada. ‘La Broheme’ is a stunning way to open the group’s account, and a fantastic toe-tapping track in its own right.

Exploding Secret Laughter is a jovial success, a great first entry that embodies the ‘let’s make fun music’ spirit of My First Earthquake in a truly rewarding way. Parting ways with a mere $4 in exchange for Faux Canada’s debut is a very good idea. - 7Bit Arcade

Faux Canada are a band from San Francisco comprised of David Lean and Alejandro Soini, former members of Bay Area darlings, My First Earthquake. They released their first EP, Exploding Secret Laughter, in February, and its a lovely little packet of well-crafted indie pop. Clearly influenced by the post-punk revival of the early oughts, and particularly redolent of Stellastarr, the band favor buoyant melodies and electronic flourishes that often lead them into surprisingly danceable territory. The execution is always sure-handed, the song construction is occasionally inspired and the video for Zabra is well worth checking out. Hopefully we’ll hear more from these two in the coming months. - Syzzle