Thursday, February 27, 2003
The Organ
I swear I'm not a bandwagoner!
Physical State: slouchy
Mental State: taffy
Music: Calexico - Hot Rail
Fashion sense: black fleece jacket, blue jeans
Oh Yes oh yes I am officially losing my indie-cred today. As you may recall I wrote some weeks ago about this (what I thought was a little) all-girl band from Vancouver called The Organ and no fewer than 3 papers in Toronto today have articles about them. Great for the band because they are very good, bad for me because it makes me and my Wavelength review coming out next week look like I'm jumping on a bandwagon (certainly a sin in indie circles). Wasn't it Morrisey who penned "we hate it when our friends become successful". You know what? Who cares. Way to go Organ! I should check you guys out on Saturday (but I have a feeling the place will be packed to capacity and anyone whose been in the Horseshoe during a music festival knows that it takes a certain level of stamina to move around let alone buy a beer). More Music festival venues!
Here for your reading pleasure are 4 Organ reviews: a link to Now's, a link to the Globe's, Kevin Hainey's review today from Eye and mine own that will (possibly) appear in Wavelength this weekend:
Now magazine
Globe and Mail - Carl Wilson article
THE ORGAN
Sinking Hearts EP Mint/604
Believe the hype! Vancouver all-female five-piece The Organ are one of those timeless and amorphous groups who recall countless classic acts while maintaining a style all their own. Armed with sparsely suggestive lyrics and catchy influences from 1976-1984, The Organ rank beside the finest names of the new-rock/post-punk revolution. And like the best DIY gal-groups (The Shaggs, LiLiPUT), The Organ's tight delivery is constantly on the verge of falling to shambles. Think of Blondie being saddened by The Smiths and tossed the restrained cool of The Strokes. This EP tease leaves you like a good lover: wanting more.
KEVIN HAINEY
Wavelength review:
The Organ - Sinking Hearts ep (Global Symphonic)
A true little pop gem from last Fall, this release from this all-girl band from Vancouver has quickly become a favourite of mine. It’s an ep that I wished existed in the 80’s when I could have danced to it and now looked back on fondly. It really takes me back, more than listening to some lousy Wang Chung record. Odd as this is from 2002! This is the adolescence that I never had! I was robbed! Sinking Hearts is a promising debut for this band and I will definitely be watching them. Katie Sketch has a truly distinctive singing voice reminiscent at times of Debbie Harry. As well there is a definite pastoral post-punk air here that’s inline with those jangly, dancey quasi-gothy bands from the early 80’s. The centrepiece of this band definitely for me, however, is the melancholy cool Hammond “organ” of Jenny Smyth, anchoring all the songs effectively with a nice undertone. This 15 minute slice of nostalgia is part of the other 80’s revival that I wished was happening more, Electroclash be damned. SV
File next to: Blondie, The Cure as an all-girl band, Cadallaca
