Our very own Michaela (that's her right there) is quoted on page 16 of the
Westender this week. The story is a round-up of some of the most memorable quotes from a year's worth of the Music Quiz. Which seems like a perfect opportunity to remind everyone that if you want to vote for us in the
Westender's Best in the West poll, you have until 9 a.m. on January 3. In other words: do it now! You could win a weekend for two in Whistler.
I pulled out another old chestnut recently.
September Bowl of Green by the
Grapes of Wrath. It's a cute little record (I mean that in a good way), and you can hear the roots of the highly original sound the Grapes later developed.
September Bowl of Green combines post-adolescent angst lyrics ("How can you be so mean to me?") and a postpunk-inspired gloom-pop sound with great two-part vocal harmonies and jangly acoustic guitars. The Cure meets the Everly Brothers? I think this record now sounds a bit dated, which explains why this is my first listen to it in several years, but "Realistic Birds" remains one of my all-time favourite instrumentals.
Cam tunes up.
Caleb ponders the rock mojo contained within his fingertips.
Happy Holidays!
VOTE FOR HINTERLAND!
There are plenty of ways to show your support for Hinterland. The Westender is currently running its Best in the West poll, and there are categories for best concert and best local band. If you missed our performances on ZeD, or would just like to see them again, vote here. And please think of Hinterland when voting in the year-end polls of publications such as Chart, Exclaim!, Alternative Press, Mojo, NME... etc... Thanks!
Just a few of the axes we used.
Cam performs some Telekinesis.
Caleb works his magic. Gregg observes.
Michaela rocks the keys some more.
The Internet can be a grand thing. Sometimes. I just stumbled across this whole
treasure trove of My Bloody Valentine videos, none of which I had ever seen before. Score!
Caleb Stull: a master at work.
More from Greenhouse. Here's me, laying down a track on my Tele. Or maybe it's my Strat. It's a Fender, at any rate.
Well, the Faith and the Muse show was pretty fun. We got to play to a different sort of crowd than usual, and it seems we made a few new fans. Sonar is actually a pretty neat venue to play. The stage is really big (well, we had to share it with the other band's drums, but we still had lots of room). We played well (in my biased opinion) and even got to do an encore, which is rare for us. So, it was a fun way to have Kyle play his last show with us, even if it was a bit of an out-of-the-ordinary gig for us to play.
In other news, we have been invited to play at
Canadian Music Week. Just like last year, only we're actually going to go this time!
Michaela rocks the keys. More to come!
Another new review, this one from
SceneandHeard.ca:
Hinterland
Under the Waterline
Hybrid Electric Records
Vancouver’s Hinterland live up to their namesake on their stunning debut long player, bringing a sense of sweeping beauty and aching loneliness to the album’s 10 tracks.
At times reminiscent of the Cocteau Twins, singer Michaela Galloway’s voice immediately brings the Twins’ Liz Fraser to mind, and their early nineties UK shoegaze brethren, the band crafts lush, moody soundscapes using a diverse blend of instruments such as oboe, flute and glockenspiel to augment the effects-laden guitars and synthesizers with Galloway’s gorgeous, ethereal vocals rising above the dense wall of sound her bandmates often create. Describing the music as “atmospheric” would be a grand understatement.
Galloway’s voice is the disc’s centrepiece, subtly shifting from soft and fragile to soaring, near operatic levels, often in the course of one song, displayed to best effect on the swirling ‘Portrait of my Invention’ and the haunting ‘Low Low Lights’. Two tracks that are guaranteed to make your hair stand on end.
Under the Waterlineis one of those rare albums that stands up to repeated listens with each subsequent spin turning up new, subtle nuances. A truly remarkable first effort from a band that definitely bears watching. Track down a copy of this gem and get in on the ground floor, now!
- Andrew Horan
(Incidentally, there isn't actually any glockenspiel on
Under the Waterline, but there likely be some on the new album.)
Here's Cam with his trusty Gibson SG.
Well, I promised some pictures from our recent sessions at Greenhouse. Here's the view over Caleb's shoulder.
VOTE FOR HINTERLAND!
Click here to fill out a ballot in the
Westender's Best in the West poll. And don't forget to write in Hinterland as best local band!
Grrr!!! Frickin' Blogger! I created this post once already, only to meet with a glitch... and so here I go again:
More than a year after its release,
Under the Waterline is still getting reviewed. Michaela found a review on a site called
Spill that says: "
Under The Waterline is proof positive that quality musicianship and true artistry still exist.... [Y]ou will want to play it repeatedly. The moody music combined with the Cocteau-ish vocal stylings of singer Michaela Galloway provides a thrilling experience..." Another review, at
Soulshine, says: "Though their recorded music comes across beautifully, the atmosphere of Hinterland is probably taken up a few more notches when experienced live. The Vancouver five-piece delves into everything from prog rock to ambient electronica, and comes out with some exquisite star-gazing music perfect for doing some deep thinking, or simply falling asleep to." I trust that's meant in a good way!
Currently listening to:
Blind by the Sundays. It still sounds great after 12 years. I feel myself being influenced in some subliminal way (and reminded of how shamelessly I ripped off "Wild Horses" for an as-yet-unreleased song!). Hinterland has been turning it up and rocking out a lot lately, but I feel strangely inclined to create music that is more jangly, chimey, and poppy (in a dark and atmospheric way, of course). Mind you, I've also been listening to the Cure box set,
Join the Dots: B-Sides and Rarities, a lot lately, so that has probably been leading me in that direction as well.
Here's the poster for our next show. Come on down and goth it up!
Thought I'd share a photo with everyone in it.
