Kazoo! #149: TUSKS / FROM EAST TO EXIT – Oct. 24th @ eBAr
TUSKS:
Tusks has been the human song vehicle of Samir Khan since approximately 2005. Coming of age in late 90s/ early 2000’s Canadian indie rock scene (Kepler, Snailhouse, Weights & Measures), Tusks has been relatively quiet of late, rarely peering above ground after releasing a well-received 6-song EP in 2008. In 2010, Tusks returned with a renewed purpose and a willingness to build on a peculiarly unique take on pop rock. Along with collaborator Shaw-han Liem (I am robot and proud, Sea Snakes, Jim Guthrie Band), Khan invited drummer Steven McKay (Bruce Peninsula) and guitarist Jordan Howard (The Skeletones Four, The Magic, Cuff the Duke, and Jim Guthrie Band) to weigh in. On their new album ‘Total Entertainment’ you hear a both a classic record collection and a forward-thinking sensibility, seething one moment, soothing the next. Here twitchy pub-punk and breezy jangle rock numbers sit with sparse ballads and left-field epic art-rock excursions. You hear ornate melodies and vocal arrangements and chord progressions that don’t always land where you expect.
FROM EAST TO EXIT:
FROM EAST TO EXIT have been playing the local Guelph-Kitchener-Waterloo-Toronto indie music scene since 2008. This trio is made up by Jon Charles on guitar & vocals, Brad Piper on bass, and Jamie Anderson on Percussion. They have gained some rave reviews and a reputation for delivering “a blast of scorching indie-rock energy, jagged guitars, pounding rhythms.” The Band recently released their first full-length album “Lowbanks” on 12? Vinyl and CD in June 2012.
