Friendo/Lab Coast – Yellow Split 7″

It always brings a grin to the proverbial face to see local/provincial bands getting attention beyond our shores. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised to see two Calgarian specimens of the great wave of Alberta “scuzz rock” released together by the independent label Faux Discx, all the way from the sandy shores of Brighton, UK (Graham Greene, anyone?). On “Germanic Panic”, Friendo leans more on their punk inclinations than their shoegaze, while “Attic Crimes” hearkens back to the now classic inaugural Cold Toads EP. The two tracks by Lab Coast are nothing short of post-garage perfection, as the singer’s knack for finding the perfect hook to sit atop the scrambled and stalwart precision of the instrumentation modestly ties everything together. This is either the first wave of Albertan cultural imperialism abroad, or simply a really great 7”.

Friendo – New Demos

Friendo are the bomb, that’s no secret. Brand new demos just dropped and I’m the blog to bring this to your attention. Wild, kinetic, infectious, Friendo are nothing if not party starterz! If you’re looking to raise the roof, look no further. These homies stay what’s up. They keep holding it down for Calgary, Alberta, and Canada. I’m excited to hear what these sound like when they aren’t demos.