bruce peninsula

In Your Light

in your light

At a younger age, there would be no way I’d catch myself at the office on the saturday of a birthday weekend.  Perhaps this is what happens when you turn 34.  I’d now rather take an afternoon to power through this inbox, plus post about all these great tunes I’ve bookmarked from the last two weeks, than start drinking at 1 in the afternoon.

Maybe I can do both actually….

Soundtrack to this exact moment is the new video for Bruce Peninsula‘s song “In Your Light” off the record Open Flames.  The video was shot in Toronto and directed and animated by Jesse Ewles and produced by Mike Juneau.  Speaking of the band, they’ve curated a soundcloud playlist for UK music blog THE LINE of BEST FIT, featuring music by past and present BP members including The Weather Station, Snowblink, Austra, Ohbijou, Timbre Timbre and more.


Bruce Peninsula – In Your Light by HandDrawnDracula

Open Flames

photo by Norman Wong

Bruce Peninsula are set to return with their sophomore full-length album, Open Flames October 4th (via Hand Drawn Dracula).  The multi-musician “alt-gospel” ensemble will give us “10 new, sprawling songs, drawn from the skin of a drum and sung from deep down in the gut”.

Prepare to be teased.

Bruce Peninsula – In Your Light (Snapshot) from Bruce Peninsula on Vimeo.

Bruce Peninsula – Open Flame (Snapshot) from Bruce Peninsula on Vimeo.

The band spent a lot of last year hard at work writing new music, with a focus on writing quickly without second-guessing, while pushing musical boundaries beyond their signature, progressive-gospel sound. By the end of the year, the band had a slew of new material which they planned to release in the Spring of 2010.  But, in December, the band were suddenly sideswiped when lead shouter Neil Haverty was diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia.  Haverty got treatment and is officially in remission, ready to join the band again.

Great news for a great band.  I’m really excited to hear this new record.

Wavelength turns 10

Coming up later this month is the Wavelength 10th Anniversary Festival; marking 10 years and 500 shows of the weekly music series founded a decade ago by a loose collective of independent musicians who wanted to create a regular meeting place to expose local artists to new audiences and generate more excitement about Torontos then-overlooked independent music scene. With a mandate to encourage cross-pollination by putting acts from different genres onto the same bill, to nurture a sense of community and co-operation between artists, and to make indie music accessible through a Pay What You Can admission price and a print zine that interviewed the bands playing the series, Wavelength launched on Sunday Feb. 13, 2000 at now-defunct College street club Teds Wrecking Yard, with a show by Mean Red Spiders and Neck, two pioneers of the 90s T.O. indie sound that were also affiliated with the Wavelength Crew.

For the 10th Anniversary milestone, Wavelength 500 expands to a record five nights at five different venues, with five bands playing each night. With 10 years, 500 shows and over 1100 bands to look back upon, Wavelength 500 is not just a best-of-the-year but also a best-of-the-decade fest. With a 100% homegrown line-up, Wavelength 500 is a living, breathing time capsule of Toronto indie rock in the 2000s.

WAVELENGTH 500
10th Anniversary Festival
February 10-14, 2010
Toronto, Ontario

Wednesday, Feb. 10th @ The Music Gallery, 197 John St.
Bruce Peninsula
Evening Hymns
Pony Da Look
Deep Dark United
Canaille
7pm $12 adv

Thursday, Feb. 11th @ Steam Whistle Brewery, 255 Bremner St.
Holy Fuck
The Russian Futurists
Fembots
Diamond Rings
Professor Fingers
8pm $18 adv

Friday, Feb. 12th @ Sneaky Dee’s, 431 College St.
From Fiction (reunion)
The Bicycles (reunion)
Laura Barrett
Magic Cheezies
Young Mother
9pm $12 adv

Saturday, Feb. 13th @ SPK / Polish Combatants Hall, 206 Beverley St.
The Constantines
Rockets Red Glare (reunion)
Donne Roberts
Picastro
Danger Bay
8pm $20 adv

Sunday, Feb. 14th @ The Garrison, 1197 Dundas St. W.
Kids On TV
The Barcelona Pavilion (original line-up reunion)
Mean Red Spiders
Neck (reunion)
Boars
9pm PWYC (door only)

FESTIVAL PASS $50 GET INTO EVERYTHING!!
Buy passes and single-night advance tickets (except for Feb. 14, door only) at:
Soundscapes, 572 College St.
Rotate This, 801 Queen St. W.
GalleryAC.com
ON SALE THURSDAY, JAN. 7TH.