This week we look at the latest releases from Praise Kiwi, The Follow Ups and Free To Grow.
Matt Carter
Praise Kiwi – Genre Fluid
What a surprise this album is! Praise Kiwi’s debut full length album Genre Fluid is a mix of experimental electronic music and hip hop, full of risk and unpredictability. The vocal delivery runs the gamut from soft, whispered praises to full-on, distorted throat peeling yells, while the music shifts back and forth between bare-bones beats and out-there eletronica. Their cover of Gwen Stefani’s Hollaback Girl (here called WHITEBOi’NANAS) is a particular highlight. If Ween made a rap album in the era of God+Ween+Satan, it may sound something like this.
The Follow Ups – The Half of It
It seems like every new release coming out of Moncton is a punk album. And while I love to hate on that city for all it’s confusing streets, non-existent parking, its muddy river and the general soullessness of it’s downtown, I am extremely envious of the amount of punk rock that that city produces. It’s nuts. It’s completely fucking bananas. On a per capita basis, I would dare to say Moncton is one of the top five (maybe even top three) hotbeds for Canadian punk music these days.
This new release by The Follow Ups is just one more example of why I look upon Moncton as a cultural mecca for the safety pinned, tattooed, back patched denim jacket wearing, black jeaned oddballs of New Brunswick music. The Half Of It is eight tracks of rock a la The Ramones played with all the energy and angst anyone could ever hope to muster.
Free To Grow – The Miracle Man
Free To Grow break an extrended bout of silence with the release of the new three song EP, Miracle Man, a release dedicated to longtime Fredericton musician Bruce Hughes. The EP’s title track is a celebration of Hughes and his surprisingly quick recovery from a serious health concern.
For this release, the band sidestep their well established brand of British prog/folk rock – a sound that has defined much of the FTG catalogue and something they do very well – and instead take a more straight ahead classic rock approach to two of this EP’s tracks: Miracle Man and Chaos. But for me, the strongest track presented here is the middle one, Bad Bear, with its harmonies, tones, and arrangement all perfectly on point.
Despite keeping a low profile, Free To Grow remains one of the most versatile, unique and completely unpredictable bands on the Fredericton scene. Hear the EP here.
Send us your Music!
If you are a New Brunswick artist or group, have new music on the way and would like to be considered for a future edition of Midweek Music Mix, send us the details at gridcitymagazine(at)gmail.com
