A couple of years ago we wrote about a young Calgary band, the Neighborhood Council. They had a single self-released EP. The band's still pretty young, but have since moved to Montreal, changed their name to Braids (no, not Braid, emo boy), and are set to release a full-length, Native Speaker. With the name change has come a shift in angle, too: Last time through we mentioned "an early Pacific Northewest sound, like what you might expect from the Softies, only on a more shoe-gaze tip with gentler dueling Excuse 17-style harmonies." This time it's Velocity Girl who keep surfacing amid the piano, guitars, extended pulsations, and ambient breaks and builds. They're still not afraid to let things flow -- a couple of the album's seven tracks are above eight minutes, two are above five, and none dip below four and a half. See, for instance, opener "Lemonade." It's like a baroque "Crazy Town."
Native Speaker is tentatively out 5/25 in Canada and Fall 2010 in the U.S. There's no label just yet. For now, hear more at MySpace. Before too long they're on the road:
05/21 - Montreal, QC @ Le Savoy #
05/22 - Boston, MA @ TT The Bear's Place %
05/27 - New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
05/29 - Toronto, ON @ The Piston (PItter Patter)
05/30 - London, ON @ Forest City Gallery
05/31 - Guelph, ON @ Ed Video
06/01 - Sudbury, ON @ Millard’s Garage
06/03 - Winnipeg, MB @ Freud's Bathhouse
06/04 - Regina, SK @ O'Hanlons Pub
06/05 - Edmonton, AB @ Castle Awesome $
06/06 - Calgary, AB @ Marquee Room $
06/08 - Medicine Hat, AB @ TBA $
06/09 - Lethbridge, AB @ TBA $
06/10 - Canmore, AB @ Canmore Hotel $
06/11 - Vancouver, BC @ Warehouse $
06/12 - Victoria, BC @ The Fifty Fifty $
06/13 - Victoria, BC @ Fan Club Music House Driveway $
06/14 - Kelowna, BC @ Blue Gator $
06/15 - Nelson, BC @ TBA $
06/18 - High Prairie, AB @ North Country Fair $
06/30-07/02 - Calgary, AB @ Sled Island
# w/ Holly Miranda
% w/ Holly Miranda, Grooms
w/ Gobble Gobble
