NEWS: ENGLISH WORDS RELEASE DEBUT ALBUM RED POTION OUT SEPTEMBER 18th
HOMETOWN CD RELEASE SHOW
SEPTEMBER 7th
In the winter of 2011, Charlottetown, PE, was imprisoned in a sea of
snow. Perfect conditions for an artistic rebirth. The ever-restless men from English Words, recently numbed by
guitars and drums, went crate diving one night into their own record
collections, mining for inspiration. A year later
their debut album, Red Potion,
was complete and is now ready for release on September 18, 2012 with a
special hometown release show on September 7th at Hunter’s Ale
House. A 33-minute collage of new wave and 80’s alternative, with 70’s synth
ambience, bursts of neo-psychedelia and even a hint of Britpop, Red Potion
borrows from each style creating a new wave hybrid. For a taste of what listeners
will find on Red Potion, check out the first single, People I Love, here.
The super catchy track is available for free download on the band’s website.
Produced by Holy Fuck bassist Matt
McQuaid, Red Potion was recorded at Old Confidence Lodge in Riverport, NS by
Diego Medina, and mixed by Stew Crookes at Stewdio in Toronto. Primary
songwriters Aaron Crane (synths/sampler/drum machine) and his brother Ryan
(vocals), with essential collaborators Todd MacLean (synths), and Andrew
Murray (guitars) headed into the studio, borrowing heavily from a fresh
palate of mechanical rhythms, samples ranging from low-fi indie rock to
Pakistani surf rock, early 4AD synths, and hooky pop. Bass player
Thayne Campbell joined the band about a week after recording was completed.
All 10 songs – reverbed, delayed, and
neatly crunched – feel like a high speed tunnel drive with the top down -
gusty vortexes of moving air, dark mystery at the centre, racing towards the
light at the end. The music layers
creative, punchy rhythms with stylish synth lines, efficiently placed guitar,
and modest bass drops. Red Potion shifts
gears between fully charged electro rock, woozy after-hours ballads, and
spacey experimental pop, allowing it to resonate during personal listens and
in more gregarious settings, as reflected in both the band’s live show and
the club-stomping lead single People
I Love.
Preceding their debut effort, the group
played tightly wound, guitar-and-drum based indie rock. A four song EP, Customer
Appreciation, was released in early 2010, and saw the band’s
single Rope climb CBC Radio 3's R30 chart. The
band, both as English Words and former moniker Smothered In Hugs (a name
stolen from a Guided By Voices song) have played countless shows at home in
Charlottetown, and have frequently toured Eastern Canada playing POP
Montreal, NXNE, and the Halifax Pop Explosion.
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