With winter in full effect, these hot bands may be our only saviours
Montreal becomes a desert in January and February because the tired tires on a band’s tour van can’t trudge through the mounds of snow. They’re right to stay away—Montreal is less inviting when the cold is biting. Here are bands we can only dream of coming to our city-size freezer and whose songs will keep you warm—but not literally.
Heaters
Crank up Heaters to warm your winter. This Michigan trio lays down a thick layer of grainy psychedelia that’ll coat you with warmth like a cozy coat. Contrasting clean 1960s rock and roll riffs with crunchy vocals you won’t understand a word of, Heaters aren’t afraid to turn beach music into something grittier. Their 7-inch Mean Green, released in April 2015, is available for sale on Bandcamp for US$7.50 if you’re willing to lower your hydro bill and live off the heat you’ll make from dancing. “No Fuss” off the album is a jangly mid-tempo song that’s as dreamy as it is grimy.
Tijuana Panthers
It’s been said that if you put cocaine on your rider in Tijuana, the venue delivers. Tijuana Panthers’ music is euphoric in a similar way. This Long Beach, CA, trio channels the energy from barreling Long Beach waves and serves up a garage rock sound sick with nostalgia. Their latest album, POSTER, sounds like Brit pop set out to lay in the California sun only to shrivel in the sand and soak in a pool. POSTER travels back to bygone eras of danceable garage pop. Book a ticket to the warmer coast with a listen to “Boardwalk,” and strap in for some California romanticism.
Elvis Depressedly
Even though Elvis Depressedly hit up Montreal in October of last year opening for The Front Brothers, this king of sulky lo-fi pop deserves to be the main attraction. A song like “New Alhambra,” off the 2015 album of the same name, is the perfect soundtrack to a day spent inside avoiding a storm. Working with wobbly melodic guitar and often employing broken equipment, frontman Mat Cothran sings languidly about being depressed and feeling a lot of things, or feeling nothing at all. Let Elvis Depressedly’s simple yet poignant lyrics lull you into your warm winter coma.
Ween
In a statement announcing their Colorado reunion shows, this infamously weird duo said that the shows are “going to be fucking mind-blowing.” A mix of strange pitch modulation and effects, some of the oddest most unnecessarily descriptive lyrics, and rock and roll melodies that resemble the end result of Pink Floyd stuffed into a meat grinder, seeing Ween perform is like spotting the rarest bird in the Amazon. The oddities and combined musical prowess that sprouted their cultish fan base will keep your ears busy for days while you try to decipher exactly what the hell is happening on their albums.
