Noise Addict: All eyes (still) on Vancouver
Yukon Blonde.
With the Olympics now over, everyone’s eyes are leaving Vancouver. But, for a moment, let’s keep our eyes and ears to the city. Vancouver, as always, has a great music scene. In the past, the city has launched the career of hundreds of bands, and here are three more that are likely on their way to big things.
Yukon Blonde (myspace.com/yukonblondeband) did what every great Kelowna, BC, band does—moved to Vancouver to try and make it. The band, who for years went by the name Alphababy, have refined their sound and are better than ever. With a throwback style reminiscent of the late ’70s, Yukon Blonde write catchy, loveable, and anthemic pop songs that are starting to make people across the country take notice.
In Medias Res (myspace.com/imrmusic) were on a roll. They had a song on major radio, were asked to open for Pedro the Lion on multiple occasions, and were landing big tours that were gaining them a lot of attention across North America. But then, life got in the way—careers, marriages, and an album that was taking years to complete. The band went into hibernation. Now, a few years later, they’re re-energized, re-focused, and ready to take over the world. The album, although almost four years in the making, is still that—in the making, but In Medias Res has started playing shows again, each one making audiences speechless, wondering where the band has been all this time.
Sports (myspace.com/sportspoo) is the side project of Ryan Peters and Darcy Hancock, who play in another Vancouver band, Ladyhawk. And, as expected, when two guys from one band start another, there are similarities. Ladyhawk take a big cue from Neil Young’s Crazy Horse, where Sports take just as many cues from heavier and faster bands, almost hinting towards At the Drive In-esque moments. It’s a unique sound that works well. Sports just released the vinyl version of their first album, and are proving what a side project can really be capable of.
CCSS Nexus promo