Edmonton-born rock band The Velveteins recently announce the release of their debut album “Slow Wave” on May 12th. Just one say after they shared the video for the band’s second single “Midnight Surf” from that album and what a terrifically tidy slice of psych pop pie it is, too!
The Velveteins consists of core songwriting members Spencer Morphy (guitar, singer) and Addison Hiller (percussion, singer). Originating as a solo project by frontman Spencer Morphy The Velveteins were officially formed and fully realized in 2014, after his return from half a year vagabonding around Australia. The band’s self-produced first effort Fresh Claws EP was released in 2014 and marked the first collaborative work between Morphy and Hiller. Their second release A Hot Second With The Velveteins was produced and recorded by Lincoln Parish of Cage The Elephant in his home studio in Nashville, United States. This release received critical acclaim both locally and internationally. The band has played CMW in Toronto and has opened up for high-profile indie acts such as Milo Greene, USS, and July Talk.
“Assured, demonstrative and undisguised, The Velveteins crack out the surf-pop hooks as frontman Spencer Morphy reminds us all that everything isn’t so bad when you have a good tune in your ear and your friends close by.”
– Goldflake Paint
“If their first single is any indication, we can expect an album filled with earworm-worthy melodies and psychedelic grooves that stick to your bones.”
– CBC Music
Their slinky indie surf tendencies have thus far spewed forth comparisons to The Kinks and The Libertines, but The Velveteins are frequently more casually weird than totally wired, and always way more welcoming. Indeed, ‘Midnight Surf’ is a slacker-glam-pop anthem for the whacked-out generation, nodding vacantly at Mott The Hoople and The Flaming Lips with dreamy melodies popping up from all angles and creamy guitar solos sinking like polished stones. Better still, the video for ‘Midnight Surf’ features a VW campervan. This makes us weirdly excited.
Hello
Good day.
We’re getting quite a bit of rain. There’s (I dunno maybe it’s) a frontal low reaching up from the Gulf of Mexico, and the ‘sky river’ is pumping all sorts of water our way, in part because it’s drifting eastward very slowly, and in part because it’s curving righthand, and drop rain on us semi-continuously.
Hello hello! Stay dry Benoit!
Thanks, J! Planning to go out cycling in between bouts, if any in-betweens materialise. But boy! There’s gonna be dense clouds of black flies and mosquitoes, this year! (Crosshatch Never happy, even after years of drought…)
We should be getting some rain today, the forecast doesn’t predict it but it is a bank holiday Monday.
I got to see the New Pornographers (minus Dan Bejar) on Friday night. It was a great concert, but I did find myself missing Bejar, and his running off-stage when he’s not singing.
Waxahatchee opened for them, and it made me just that more jealous of everyone who gets to see them on their Canadian tour, with Born Ruffians opening.
don’t think I’ll bother with NP on this tour. FInally got to see them after Brill Bruisers (minus Bejar and Neko)
One of my boys is a fan and was thinking about going, but I just looked and it’s 19+, which is weird, because the venue it’s at isn’t usually 19+. I guess they think NP fans are all old, unlike Mother Mother
I was about to comment that there weren’t too many young people on Friday, but then I remembered that it was also a 21+ show, so that would explain why.
Good day!
We sawPick A Piper on Sat. at Phog. Goodnight, Sunrise opened.
LV plays this Friday at Amigos. Haven’t seen them in at least a year
Hello all!
Nice job on The Velveteins post Garf. I am digging their sound.
On Saturday, Simone Schmidt (Fiver, The Highest Order) is opening for Bry Webb at the Black Sheep Inn. I must admit to liking the opener more than the main act, still, it’ll be a solid show in both halves.
Also, dig the psychedelic poster for Friday’s show: https://www.theblacksheepinn.com/
I was just watching a video about Simone Schmidt’s project and Fiver album. Very interesting. You can find an article and video at this link below.
https://noisey.vice.com/en_ca/article/fiver-honours-the-forgotten-women-of-a-criminal-insane-asylum-on-audible-songs-from-rockwood
That was a fascinating article, I look forward to checking out Schmidt’s project. Unfortunately the video wasn’t available down here.
thx!
That is a cool poster.
Sad to hear you are losing Zaphod’s in Ottawa. I would have liked to have seen that venue.
http://exclaim.ca/music/article/ottawa_venue_zaphod_beeblebrox_to_reportedly_close?utm_source=facebookpage&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=fbpwall
I was just beaten to that story
Oops. hehe
Yeah, a short month ago, there was a open letter from Eugene, the ex-owner, about how the new owner had stopped sending him monthly payments — the agreed-upon selling mode. Apparently, the new owner told him basically to fuck off or he’d just close the place. I think perhaps the new owner wasn’t able to get bands as Eugene was; the only shows I saw booked there in the past while had been booked via Spectrasonic, Ottawa’s main talent-getter. Anyway…
I was just there on Friday to hear Preoccupations.
That’s crappy. 🙁
How was Preoccupations? I just read a review of a show that wasn’t extremely glowing. That they didn’t seem too interested in being there kind of thing but the crowd seemed to enjoy them anyway.
Zaphod’s was one of those venues I was hoping to visit some day
haha…words
“Next up were Haligonian band Walrus, promoting their upcoming debut, Family Hangover — a pristine slice of Elephant 6 pop zen. But in a live setting, the band came off something like Real Estate with the rhythm section of a Primus cover band after watching a stoner rock documentary. Although the quintet sounded quite shambolic and vacillated in their delivery, there was nonetheless a sonic charm that made their set undeniably watchable and original.”
from the review I’m assuming Darbar was talking about re: Preoccupations
http://exclaim.ca/music/article/preoccupations_walrus_the_yips-zaphod_beeblebrox_ottawa_on_april_28
Yes that sounds like the one I read. I have enjoyed what I have heard from Walrus so far btw.
Elliot Brood was great fun on Saturday.
Work on Sunday was not so much fun.
Work on Monday was even less fun.
I will leave you with this and bid you good night
I may have enjoyed Walrus more than Preoccupations, who were faster and louder. Walrus (about six men or so) was very solid, changing rhythms along the way. Preocc. I was more just curious about, and had enough of after 4-5 songs.
https://www.shelfies.com/products/cbc-retro-joggers?utm_medium=facebook-ad&utm_campaign=CBC-Promo-carousel&utm_source=facebook&utm_content=products-shots&utm_term=all
just in case you didn’t see this in your FB feed