Scion Sessions and Hand Drawn Dracula combine for a second time on an original release pairing up bands from the family canon. On the occasion of the label’s 5th anniversary, two of its most peerless recent additions take grain of salt stabs on besting one another’s sound. Beliefs’ languid shoe-ward gaze raises to an accelerated pace on “Long Wings”, informed by Greys’ breakneck clip and guttural twists. The inverse: Greys’ deliberate “Dodgson” illuminates the gentleness hidden under their sludge. Almost too perfect a collaboration for already companion bands, who evidently could blur the line between them more often.
These two brand new tracks appear on opposing sides of a limited 7″, hitting the streets at Hand Drawn Dracula’s NXNE party, June 15 at The Garrison (Toronto). The coloured & splattered vinyl will free to all who show face early enough.
Hand Drawn Dracula is excited to announce TANGIERS as our headliner for NXNE 2013!
Ten years ago, Toronto band Tangiers recorded and released their debut record “Hot New Spirits”. These life long friends recorded this document live off the floor to tape, thus beginning a whirlwind of chaotic live shows, critical acclaim and heavy strange wildness. Tangiers was built with equal measure muscular intensity and lithe weirdo damaged poetry.
Blending core rock and roll, manic energy, and an outsider art soul, Tangiers predated a Toronto band explosion to come. Their unhinged energy and “locals only” city kid aesthetic came along with a rancid garbage strike and a sweltering heat wave. International recognition suggested a star on the precipice of birth, instead implosion.
It was over for this original line up in under a year.
10 years later Tangiers are reforming for a show, because playing feels good.
“Hot New Spirits is the lost gem of that time—an anxious, nervy, joyous announcement to the world. Other bands would come to define the scene and the decade, but this is what it sounded like before we knew where we were going – Top 10 Canadian albums of the decade” ~ MACLEANS
“Americas, here is your garage-rock underdog. 8.2″ ~ Pitchfork
Dark new agers DOOMSQUAD re-code the electronic music narrative with a more worldly and cosmological presence than the genre would normally dictate. Their songs are rich in variance and full of vividness, spanning across their entire debut LP Kalaboogie. Drawing in guitar, flute, percussion and synth, the Montreal and Toronto-based siblings Allie, Jaclyn and Trevor Blumas act as aural anthropologists, teaming relics of cross cultural traditions like chanting and repetition over seismic ripples of deep bass. Doomsquad’s mixing of influences leaves you feeling awakened.
Doomsquad EP released this summer via Artifiacial Records / Hand Drawn Dracula and the debut full-length released this fall via Hand Drawn Dracula
Today, BY DIVINE RIGHT are pleased to announce the imminent release of their 9th album, Organized Accidents. Scheduled to be released June 4, 2013, Organized Accidents is the culmination of José Contreras’ songwriting and production pursuits. Written and recorded in a forest just outside of Toronto, Contreras has continued his explorations of ambience and deconstruction with a tight knit group of friends, including current BDR members Geordie Dynes (Mark Inside) and Alysha Haugen (Sheezer).
Listen to the entire By Divine Right album now!
Choose your own stream adventure: Stream the new album with Exclaim!, with CBC Music, or with AUX TV!
“Organized Accidents” (LP, CD, Premium DIGITAL) — Available June 4th 2013 — PRE-ORDER ALBUM NOW
ON TOUR
06.14 · Toronto ON, NXNE @ St James Park
07.04 · Sault Ste Marie ON, Loplops
07.05 · Thunder Bay ON, Crocks
07.06 · Winnipeg MB, TBA
07.09 · Regina SK, O’Hanlons
07.10 · Edmonton AB, Wunderbar
07.12 · Kelowna BC, Habitat
07.14 · Vancouver BC, The Cobalt
07.18 · Calgary AB, The Palomino
07.19 · Ness Creek SK, Ness Creek Festival
07.20 · Saskatoon SK, Vangelis
08.03 · Toronto ON, Lee’s Palace
DUSTED have a new video for “Bruises” off their critically acclaimed album Total Dust. The shimmering flares of sunlight and soft focus of the video pairs perfectly with Dusted’s fuzzed out guitars and haunting vocals. Director Benjamin Portas, a friend and collaborator of Hand Drawn Dracula (Beliefs’ “Lilly” and “Carousel” videos) and Production Assistant Erica Beyea shot the video in remote Australia, taking advantage of their surroundings to craft a beautiful visual interpretation of the song.
Total Dust was described as a “dewy lo-fi pop ramble, with sweetly multi-tracked vocals, cavernous layers of melancholy guitar strums, and galloping, off-kilter percussion” by Spin Magazine. Total Dust is available on limited maroon-coloured LP (only a few copies left) and CD in our HDD on-line store.
DUSTED TOUR DATES
08/02/13 Montreal, PQ – Osheaga
08/01/13 Montreal, PQ – Théâtre Corona Virgin Mobile w/ Valleys, Besnard Lakes
06/15/13 Toronto, ON – NXNE Hand Drawn Dracula showcase
HDD’s been working closely this past year with Cousins on their new record “The Halls of Wickwire” and it’s a good one! The album was recorded with HDD collaborators Graham Walsh (HOLY FUCK) and engineer Josh Korody (BELIEFS). More news, dates, and a proper press release with all the info soon! In the meantime, watch the UK premiere of their new video “What’s Your Name?” from the forthcoming digital single and full length LP. UK/EU/CAN Tour Dates listed HERE and below:
06/22/13 Calgary AB : Sled Island
06/21/13 Calgary AB : Sled Island
06/15/13 Toronto ON : NXNE ~ Hand Drawn Dracula Showcase
06/07/13 Halifax NS : Obey Convention ~ Bus Stop Theatre
05/31/13 Osnabruck DE : Kleine Freiheit
05/30/13 Hamburg DE : Molotow
05/29/13 Berlin DE : Crystal
05/24/13 Amsterdam NL : Delicatessen Zeeburg
05/18/13 Brighton UK : The Great Escape ~ The Hope Artrocker Stage (7:45 pm)
05/17/13 Brighton UK : The Great Escape ~ Blind Tiger Club (2:45 pm)
05/15/13 London UK : Lock Tavern
05/15/13 London UK : Shacklewell Arms
DREAM AFFAIR’s new video for the title track, “From Now On” directed by Jeremy Jansen. From their six-song F12-inch EP From Now On released via Artificial Records/Hand Drawn Dracula. Video stills 1 & 2. Upcoming tour dates here.
“The clip’s dark tone befits the song’s noisy, goth tinged electro-rock mood. We see flashing lights and and a disorienting quick edits while barely recognizable hands and faces emerge from behind some sort of translucent screen, making the whole thing resemble a shadowy nightmare.” ~ Exclaim!
In advance of their four SXSW shows this week, DUSTED open the vault sharing two early, unreleased tracks. “No Trouble” makes its debut; the never-before-heard track is available as a free download via Soundcloud. DUSTED also release a video stream of “In Yr Skull”, originally available at CMJ as an extremely limited edition flexidisc split with METZ.
Both tracks were recorded early in the genesis of DUSTED and feature HOLY FUCK as the backing band. In this incarnation of Dusted are BRIAN BORCHERDT on vocals and guitar, Brad Kilpatrick on drums, Matt McQuaid on bass and Graham Walsh also on guitar. Anna Edwards provides background vocals on “No Trouble”.
In April DUSTED return to Canada, playing eight cozy venues with stops in the eastern corridor from Montreal, Quebec to London, Ontario. Full tour dates listed below.
TOUR DATES
March 14 Austin, TX – SXSW Polyvinyl Records Showcase @ Red Eyed Fly – 9 pm
March 15 Austin, TX – SXSW Halifax Pop Explosion Party @ Friends – 1:45 pm
March 15 Austin, TX – SXSW Under The Radar Party @ Flamingo Cantina – 3:15 pm
March 16 Austin, TX – SXSW Halifax Pop Explosion @ Friends – 11 pm
April 5 Guelph, ON – Kazoo Fest *
April 7 Hamilton, ON – This Aint Hollywood *%
April 11 Kitchener – Waterloo, ON – Starlight *#
April 12 Ottawa, ON – Pressed *^
April 13 Montreal, ON – TBA ^
April 20 Kingston, ON – Grad Club *
April 26 London, ON – APK
April 27 Toronto, ON – Parkdale Library *
August 2-4 Montreal, PQ – Osheaga, Parc Jean-Drapeau
“First Look: Prepare to get hooked on the glistening new album from fuzzy dream-pop band, Beliefs” ~ Dazed & Confused
“using their seminal influences as a catalyst rather than template, “their self-titled debut album is a frighteningly assured and expansive effort, recalls last decade’s High Water Marks, Women or Deerhunter” ~ Rough Trade UK
“Layers of dreamy barely-there vocals, thick crunchy guitar chords, feedback overtones and urgent drums propel this addictive, rousing shoe-gaze anthem.” ~ Rough Trade/The Guardian UK
“The album will please fuzz-lovers with distortion-filled amp-melters like “Catch My Breath,” while seven-and-a-half minute closer “Gallows Bird” begins with contemplative arpeggios before exploding into a cinematic epic.” ~ Exclaim! Magazine
DREAM AFFAIR ‘FROM NOW ON’
1. From Now On
2. All I Want
3. Torn Apart
4. The Porter
5. Over and Over
6. Jasper
Excited to announce the first release from Hand Drawn Dracula label division ARTIFICIAL RECORDS!
DREAM AFFAIR’s ‘From Now On‘ is a post-punk, synth-laden, stark and industrial statement already earning attention from Pitchfork Media. Noisey / Vice interviewed DREAM AFFAIR and premiered lead off track ‘From Now On’.
PRE-ORDERS available now! Digital release date February 26 and 12″ EP release April 9, 2013.
01/26/13 Brooklyn, NY : 131 Chrystie Street
03/01/13 Montreal, PQ : Katacombes
03/02/13 Toronto, ON : Double Double Land
03/15/13 Austin, TX : SXSW – Soho Lounge
NME The Buzz
#1 BELIEFS
Beamed up from the same Canadian hype scene that made good with Grimes and Doldrums, Toronto duo Beliefs are, in a musical sense, the blissed-out siblings of their freaky Montreal buddies. Clinging to the shaky shoegaze train, they manage to not be totally boring – unlike 99.9 per cent of their genre compatriots. Songs like ‘Catch My Breath’ give a serotonin injection to soaring dreampop that’s every bit as spiritual as their name suggests. What’s more, singer-guitarist Jesse Crowe used to have a hairdressing salon called – ahem – Grateful Head. Their self-titled debut LP – out March 4 on No Pain In Pop [March 5th on Hand Drawn Dracula & Manimal] – promises nifty cuts of the sonic variety.
HDD NXNE 2013
