"Royally Sparked" is a compilation from the fine folks at Sparks Music that includes 16 tracks from 8 of Canada's best and most diversified new acts including The Two Koreas, Key Witness, Nathan Lawr and the Minotaurs, Yonder and Jay Sparrow as well as Sparks artists Spiral Beach, the priddle concern and Son Of Dave.
Andy Crosbie of Sparks Music sums up the compilation idea- "in the selective song culture that digital downloads have created, putting together Royally Sparked made perfect sense. Sixteen memorable tracks from eight artists available both digitally and physically."
ABOUT THE BANDS:
Spiral Beach
Still riding high on their critically 2nd album Ball, Spiral Beach are brothers Daniel and Airick Woodhead form the songwriting core of Spiral Beach, joined by New York City transplant Dorian Wolf and childhood friend Maddy Wilde. Having grown up immersed in the 60’s born folk festival circuit, the band’s sound developed as a reaction to their upbringing, finding solace in churning dance music both haunting and jubilant, propelled by the uncannily matched voices of Airick and Maddy belting out surreal lyrics set to cutting melodies.
The Two Koreas
These are times of war, though not the sort you hear about in top-of-the-hour headline-news updates or in foolhardy presidential state-of-the-union addresses. The very tenets of civilized society are in peril: taste, comfort and class are going over the heads of the mass, and The Two Koreas will not stand idly by watching cigarette prices rise while IQs fall. They have devised a new 12-point plan to save your soul and, while they’re at it, your wardrobe. Call them didactic; we call them Altruists.
Nathan Lawr
Nathan Lawr's musical career has been all about movement: the fluid motions of drumming for Royal City, FemBots, and other musical colleagues; the cross-country touring with folks like Jim Guthrie, The Constantines, and the "Mid-winter/Mid-autumn Night's Dream" revues; the step out from behind the kit to begin writing and performing his own songs. No surprise, then, that relocating to Sudbury for love and learning has given Lawr new impetus on his musical journeys, gathered on his third and critically acclaimed album, A Sea of Tiny Lights.
Yonder
Toronto’s Yonder have one foot in the city and one out in the country. Compared to everything from grandiose indie-rockers Arcade Fire to alt-country pioneer Gram Parsons. The recent album “Skywalk To Crescent Town” was recorded and mixed over two weeks. Armed with a string section, a horn section, pedal steel, banjo, fiddle, upright bass, harmonium and even a musical saw, Skywalk truly toes the line between city and country. Using humor and humility, Bennett’s lyrics paint a stark and sometimes frightening portrait of life, love, and loss, while blurring the line
between fiction and reality.
The Priddle Concern
The Priddle Concern is the latest project from Toronto songwriter Bill Priddle. Best known for co-founding the Toronto based band treble charger, Priddle co- produced his debut solo album with Howie Beck (Hayden, Jason
Collett), Andy Magoffin (Two Minute Miracles/The Hidden Cameras, The Constantines, Great Lake Swimmers), John Critchley (13 Engines/ Elliott Brood) and Dave Neufeld, (Broken Social Scene, Super Furry Animals). The Priddle Concern debut also features Brendan Canning (Broken Social Scene), Evan Cranley (Broken Social Scene/Stars), Justin Peroff (Broken Social Scene) and Amy Millan (Stars).
Son Of Dave
You may know Benjamin Darvill aka Son Of Dave from his days spent in Crash Test Dummies, who toured relentlessly for 12 years and sold more than 8 million records. What you may not know about the Winnipeg born artist, is that he has been living in London, UK for the last number of
years and has been bringing “the Blues kicking and howling into the 21st Century” ever since his 2006 release Son Of Dave‘02’. Son of Dave has toured the world as a solo act, playing hundreds of shows in the world’s best festivals, concert stages and night clubs; he has supported huge acts,
appeared on major television programs and had chart success in several countries. Championed by the likes of Dazed & Confused, Vice and Clash, he has performed on BBC 2’s flagship music show ‘Later With Jools Holland’, supported Supergrass on their last UK tour, inspired KT Tunstall’s solo show and Grace Jones asked for his phone number.
Key Witness
Since 2005, the Key Witness live show has gathered a cult following with its enormous energy and eclectic soundscapes. Their interdisciplinary ethos consistently gazes into separate horizons while keeping one foot grounded in folk. Bus boys, mathematicians, filmmakers, and deportation dodgers; this assortment of highly-skilled musicians finds inspiration in everything from an expanding/collapsing universe to reruns of The Twilight Zone.
Jay Sparrow
Jay Sparrow is a punk and a poet. As the lead singer of Edmonton's Murder City Sparrows he can rock with the best of them. As a solo acoustic artist he is a brooding street-tough poet who wears his heart on his tattoed sleeve.
REVIEWS:
Featuring Sparks’ artists Spiral Beach, the priddle concern and Son Of Dave as well as artists like The Two Koreas and Nathan Lawr And The Minotaurs, Royally Sparked is a nice compilation of Canadian bands deserving of more acclaim. With eight bands and 16 tracks (two tracks per band), the compilation gives a nice sample of each band and what to expect. The Two Koreas’ “Return to Oslo” and “Cheeky Snaps” are both feel-good, head-bobbing rocking tunes. The two tracks from the priddle concern are what you would expect from a former member of Broken Social Scene: well-produced, guitar-driven rock songs with a few guest stars added to the mix. Spiral Beach will have you bouncing too with their youthful, upbeat tunes, especially “Rocket Fuel.” The album also features more laid-back, country-flavoured songs from Yonder and the acoustic delight of Jay Sparrow. With a little bit of everything on the Canadian indie rock scene, Royally Sparked is a good heads up if you’re looking for something new. - Spill Magazine
If you're not familiar with some of the latest fruits from Toronto's thriving indie underground – Spiral Beach's gritty/ sexy neo-B-52s thing, Nathan Lawr and the Minotaurs' elevated popcraft, the Two Koreas' arch pogo-punk, Son of Dave's ribald beatbox blues-funk – this CD-and-digital compilation from the folks at recently minted local label Sparks Music should give you much to sink your teeth into. - The Toronto Star
Compilations can be a tricky animal to tame. If they're well done, they contain a wide range of tracks that span not only artists but also genres. There-in lies their strength and weakness. To be successful, a compilation turns you onto music that you normally wouldn't have picked up on. It takes you a step or two (or three) outside of your comfort zone. That's where you can run into their weakness. The odds of you finding a whole collection of tracks (a diverse collection I should say) that completely flip your lid is about as great as Britney Spears getting her life under control again. The magic trick that compilations play on you is that they turn you on to a few good artists, good enough that you don't mind listening to the rest that aren't your bag.
That being said, Royally Sparked does an admirable job of walking that line. It's sixteen tracks collect songs from eight different artists, only one of which I had heard before (Spiral Beach). I picked two of the artists who I enjoyed best below, but explore the compilation on your own when you can to make your own discoveries.
The first track below comes from The Two Koreas, a band from Toronto. Their track Return To Oslo (the first of two from them on the comp) gives off serious echos of Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground. - Mainstream Isn't So Bad
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