Vancougar - Canadian Tuxedo CD Review (Mint Records)

STREAM Vancougar - "Obvious"
STREAM Vancougar - "Distance"

I never got around to doing a "Best of 2008" list but Vancougar's Canadian Tuxedo would have made my list.

In my mind, Canadian Tuxedo ranks up there with Blondie's first disc. Vancougar's style of music combines 60's style girl group harmonies, AM Radio pop, and garage-rock. This is the sort of record that Blondie should have made in place of the deplorable The Curse of Blondie disc a few years back.

Producer Dave Carswell (The New Pornographers, Tegan and Sara, etc.) gives this disc the perfect balance between singer/guitarist Eden Fineday's soaring vocals and the driving beat of the band. Drummer C.C. Rose gives the band a punk back-beat which is then complemented by Becca Stewart's fuzzed-out bass lines and the wonderful garage keys of Megan Johnson. Eight of the disc's ten songs are bouncy power-pop tunes and the last two are "Brill Building" torch songs. Lyrically, the themes are about love, broken romance, and the challenges of adulthood.

"Philadelphia" is one of my favorite songs on the disc and you can check out a live video of the song below.



Canadian Tuxedo is great stuff -- it is the sort of CD that you can play over and over again as there isn't a bad song on the disc.

Links:
Vancougar's MySpace Profile

Vancougar Announce CMJ Show at Fat Baby (Mint Records)

Vancouver's Vancougar have announced a CMJ show at Fat Baby on October 24th. The band signed to Mint Records earlier this year (home to The Pack A.D.) and are touring behind their debut disc Canadian Tuxedo.

Comparisons to Sleater-Kinney seem to get thrown at every female-fronted band but, this time, I can the basis for the comparison. Vancougar's music falls somewhere between later-day Sleater-Kinney and a hypothetical garage-rock band fronted by Belinda Carlisle. Check out "Obvious" from Canadian Tuxedo.



Here are the band's complete tour dates:

Wed, Oct 22 - Cambridge, MA - The Middle East w/ Jay Reatard, Cola Freaks, Tampoffs
Fri, Oct 24 - NYC- Fat Baby - Mint Records CMJ Showcase w/ The Pack A.D., The Awkward Stage, Hot Panda, Novillero
Sat, Oct 25 - Pittsburgh, PA – Gooski’s w/ The Burndowns
Sun, Oct 26 - Asheville, NC – The Admiral w/ Suttree
Mon, Oct 27 - Atlanta, GA – The Earl w/ Thee Crucials
Tue, Oct 28 - Huntsville, AL – Voodoo Lounge w/ Thomas Function
Wed, Oct 29 - Nashville, TN – Springwater w/ Thomas Function, Trampskirts, Outlaw Lovers
Thu, Oct 30 - Chicago, IL – Ronny’s Bar
Fri, Oct 31 - Columbus, OH - The Summit w/ The Cheater Slicks, TV Ghost, Jack’s Widow
Sat, Nov 01 - Milwaukee, WI - Club Garibaldi w/ The Goodnight Loving, Sugar Stems, Stolen Minks
Sun, Nov 02 - Madison, WI - The Frequency w/ The Grizzlies, The Hussy (early show - starts at 7 pm)
Mon, Nov 03 - Omaha, NE - Venue TBA
Wed, Nov 05 - Provo, UT - The Compound w/ Split Reactions, Steve & The Ohs (house party)
Fri, Nov 07 - Portland, OR - The East End w/ Phantom Lights, Mean Jeans
Sat, Nov 08 - Seattle, WA – Wild Rose w/ The Shackles, Suspicions

Links:
Vancougar's MySpace Profile