MUSICBriefs •
CD RELEASE
FIRST FROM THE LAST
It’s not often a band releases their first full-length after 10 solid years of playing together, but The Last Deal’s epic, sprawling Berdache is finally here. Clocking in at just over 50 minutes, the album is worth every minute of feverish anticipation.
“We tend to work at our own pace,” admits guitarist and lead vocalist James Stewart. “We serve the songs and take time to craft them, and that’s always been the main focus. But that doesn’t always lend itself to doing things quickly. The songs are pretty long; we gave them a lot of room to breathe, and the process in which we write is pretty collaborative. We like to build everything up together, and although it can be like banging your head against the wall at times, if the end result is something you’re proud of, then it doesn’t really matter.”
Berdache follows the band’s extraordinarily well-received self-recorded, self-titled 2005 debut EP. But the length of time between records enabled the band to build on the EP’s concepts and themes. “This time around,” Stewart says, “we really wanted to make sure we got other people involved. On the last one, we were still trying to figure out our sound more, and we were writing stuff and adapting to this and that, and I think now we have a way more unified sound, and the songs have a more unified feel.”
Eclectic, adventurous, and always engaging, Berdache is easily one of the most ambitious, concentrated, and consistent Edmonton releases of recent years. You can be one of the first to get a taste of it at The Last Deal’s CD release party this Saturday at Jekyll & Hyde Pub (10610-100 Ave). $10 at the door.
EAMON MCGRATH
LIVE PARTY
BLAZING THROUGH THE NO-DANCE WINTER SLUMP
Considering how balls-numbingly cold it’s been over the past week, Blazing Violets’ vocalist and guitarist Codie McLachlan has no issues with audiences wearing big, fleecy hipster scarves. However, McLachlan wants to make sure all the “cool” onlookers do more at their February 8 Velvet Underground show than nod their heads.
“We like when people dance to our music,” McLachlan says. “People need to loosen up like that. We have enough stuff going on in the world, and I think people should come out to our show and just dance.”
During their concerts, the Edmonton quartet’s catchy, psychedelic party rock is usually accompanied by improvised costumes and themed stage shows, so McLachlan should have us frigid, frozen music fans sweating in no time. McLachlan will also be using the show as a workout of his own—specifically, as a chance to warm up for their upcoming spur-of-the-moment basement recording.
“We haven’t been playing live much lately because we’ve been tightening up and getting ready for another record,” McLachlan explains. “It’ll be fairly low-budget, and we’ll probably end up mixing and engineering the whole thing in one shot again. That’s how we did it last year and it turned out surprisingly well.”
AMANDA ASH
