Photo credit goes to Nightlife.ca.
This past tuesday, I headed up to La Sala Rossa on St-Laurent to witness what was probably one of the finest performances I've ever seen in my life. Local boys Pat Jordache opened up for the amazing NY outfit Twin Shadow, and it blew my mind to bloody pieces. I had occasionally listened to a few of Twin Shadow and its charismatic frontman/singer/guitarist/songwriter George Lewis Jr's tunes before I went to the show, but after their spellbinding, sold-out performance, I must say that I have become a loyal fan. They were REALLY fucking rad, man.
Pat Jordache
The opening group was Pat Jordache, an impressive 5 piece outfit with two drummers, that plays really awesome lo-fi pop. After reading up a bit on them, I realized that I actually had seen the lead singer before, back when he was the saxophone player in Islands.
Pat Jordache, however, does not resemble that pretentious wuss-rock band at all. Most of the songs on their debut tape (something I haven't bought since I used to order underground black metal tapes back in the day. Worth the eight bucks though, it's pretty awesome) were recorded on free software and crappy equipment. As a live band, they laid it down proper, with songs ranging from mumbled baritone funk to catchy Ariel Pink-esque weirdo voodoo rock.
Pat Jordache- Get it
Twin Shadow
Twin Shadow- Castles in the Snow
To be honest with you, the best thing about Twin Shadow is George Lewis Jr. In a live setting, this guy is a monster. It is impossible to take your eyes off of him, his swagger is way too mighty ahaha. But seriously though, he's such a magnetic force onstage, singing with such raw intensity and emotion, that it is literally nigh-impossible to do anything but stare gape-jawed at the dopeness. His band, which features a drummer, a keyboard player and a bassist are really tight as well, and definitely play their part in making each tune groove and flow. George Lewis Jr is the personification of blues, funk dandy romantic pop and pure soul, and its hard not to fall in love with this band.
Twin Shadow- I can't wait
I might seem really fanboyish while describing them, but I was really, really impressed. Each song flowed so smoothly, and even though their sound is a throwback to 80s new wave and pop (kinda), they are not the least bit soft. They still have an hard edge to them, and surprisingly, the crowd (which wasn't too hipsterish, either) went wild. Pretty much everyone was two-steppin with a big grin on their face, which is always nice to see. It's nice to see a performer really open up to a crowd and to see that crowd react to raw, visceral emotion. I think the fact that there is clearly no production trickery involved, and that they can actually really throw it down increases their appeal tenfold(oh, and as a sidenote, Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear produced their only album. Rad!)
Twin Shadow crafts instantly memorable and catchy pop tunes that are completely timeless in their appeal, unlike a lot of bands who try to emulate the same sounds. They do wear their influences on their sleeve, but it never sounds forced or contrived. This is authentic, heartfelt pop music for the ages, but it is nowhere near cheesy, commercial or 'safe'.
Twin Shadow- Slow
Besides being a fine guitarist, George also happens to have skills in remixing. He was recently commisioned by The Fader and legendary Salsa label Fania to remix a song by Ray Baretto. You can check that one out here, but I've actually posted his very recent remix of Danish songstress Oh Land's tune White Nights. His retooling of the sweet vocals, synth lines and drums warps it into a frantic disco love song.
Oh Land- White Nights (Twin Shadow remix)
Anyways, I've been bouncing back-and-forth between writing this and working for the past few hours, so let's wrap this up. This band is dope, if they stroll through your town you'd be a fool not to go see them, and they are going to be huge. BUY THEIR RECORD, it's one of the best of 2010.
And finally, to cap off the post, here's a new tune from Montreal rising stars Prince Club (ex Mad Kids). Call it tech-house, call it future r'n'b, call it whatever the hell you want, I just call it dope. This young duo have already released several EPs this year, and they have another one forthcoming on the mighty Discobelle records.
The amount of blogs that are showering praise on this talented pair of producers is going up exponentially with every release, and their tunes have been rinsed by Brodinski, Round Table Knights, Sinden, Riva Starr, and many more influential DJs. With that much support and a growing fanbase, I would expect 2011 to be Prince Club's year to blow. I, for one, have been jamming out non-stop to Love Jackson and Charma, some of their previous jams, and am definitely lookin forward to the new releases. Keep your eyes peeled!
Prince Club- 303s & 808s
The weekend is coming up, and you can catch us this week at Igloofest for Night Trackin (Jacques Greene, Seb Diamond & Duvall), Lunice and Stanton Warriors' sets on Saturday in the Old Port. Let's get hyphyyyy.
-matt.
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