New Albums: Hilotrons & The Steve Adamyk Band
A couple of Ottawa’s best are releasing new albums within the next week. Hilotrons (Kelp Records) and The Steve Adamyk Band (Dirtnap Records) are offering up new material and kicking off 2013 with full force. Hilotrons’ At Least There’s Commotion contains a bit of everything, melding different themes, sounds and styles in the final product. Personally, I’ve listened to the album stream on the CBC website a couple times over and love it. Having taken some time off Hilotrons’ releases for five years, Michael Dubue hasn’t missed a step with this album. An excerpt from a recent CBC feature explains:
Beneath its edgy, pop exterior, there’s quite a melancholy aspect to this record. It seems like a collection of love songs, or at least an album full of songs about dynamics between men and women.
“Almost,” Dubue clarifies. “Some of them might seem like it’s all between lovers but there’s a bunch that are between friends and family. The narrative of the record is from the point of view of someone who suffers borderline personality disorder and also from the perspective of their friends and family.”
The Steve Adamyk Band is also set to release a 12-track full-length appropriately titled Third. The band has made some great strides since forming in 2010, and overcame a bit of adversity with changes in the band. The album won’t disappoint anyone who likes the dirty, garagy, pop-punk with lots of drive – it is a great listen from start to finish. Even though a lot of the tracks are shorter in length, songs like “Eyes” (my fav) and “Not a Witness” will have you moving involuntarily to great tunes, one after the other. The song “Katacombs” was premiered on SPIN last month, and was referred to by them as a “White-knuckle pop-punk gem”. Let’s be honest, there isn’t a bad song on this album so take a few good listens. Having seen these dudes absolutely tear up Arboretum Music+Arts Festival last September really had me thinking, “Holy shit – there really are awesomely loud and talented bands that live in Ottawa”.
Stream Hilotrons’ At Least There’s Commotion on CBC Music’s website for a limited time. Hilotrons play at the Garrison (1197 Dundas St. W) in Toronto on Feb. 8 and at Casa del Popolo (4873 boul. St-Laurent) in Montreal on Feb. 20. The album is released to the public Feb. 5 through Kelp Records.
Stream The Steve Adamyk Band’s new album Third on exclaim.ca for a short time too. Upcoming shows include Ottawa on Mar. 2 at Babylon and in Toronto Mar. 24 at Crawford. Third arrives on Feb. 12 through Dirtnap Records.
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