Thursday, March 06, 2008

Entire Cities


"My personal contribution to the ol' pigeonhole is 'psychedelic cow punk'; I'm not really worried about it though, because I've tried to define the music myself and failed miserably. If I don't know what it is, then how the fuck is anyone else gonna know?"

So sayeth Simon Borer, guitarist/vocalist for Toronto's Entire Cities. I'd like his band just for the simple fact he acknowledges the futility of defining a band's sound. I'm just bowled over with these guys. A 7-strong core outfit with a revolving cast of additional players. Live show, by all accounts, is a ruckus. If that matters to ya. Don't know because I haven't seen them yet.

I'm not a lyrics guy naturally. I have to work at it. My ADD tends to kick in and I normally have songs hit me for how they sound. How they feel. How they hit me in the gut. Entire Cities meet all these instant criteria, but I'm enamoured by their lyrics too. they just have these lyrics that get you in that good part of your heart. Take Sunshine, to hear it go to their profile at CBC Radio3, backed by a banjo and some vibey guitar, these words economically oozed out like a fourth Followil brother, "I'm fucked up. On sunshine. Heartbreak. For a lifetime".

Or Dancing With My Brother, destined to bring back acid recall of cowboy hoe-downs gone awry, and one of the best chorus' I've heard lately, " I'm my brother's snakeskin motherfucker".

Coffee reminds me so much of a friend of mine when it opens with " She said, 'I ain't been without a man since I was a little girl of thirteen. Now's my chance to find out who I am without a man". I like those moments; when the music gets personal with you.

Keep your eye out for Entire Cities, They hit real pure.

Simon wrote in to say that they are holding their cd release April 11th at the King & Niagara Legion Hall. Be on the ball with that. No April 1st gig as previously mentioned.

Entire Cities - Dancing With My Brother
mp3
Entire Cities - Coffee mp3