Vinyl and cassettes are making a comeback, and streaming has never been more popular, or has had so many platforms to choose from, but nothing rivals the timeless CD release party.
If the anticipation of new music from a favourite band or artist wasn’t enough, hearing it live for the first time in a venue filled with other fans is an experience like none other. It marks a moment in time that is shared only by those in attendance. And is there a better time to enjoy good music together as a community?
This Thursday, Barrie’s own Indian Handcrafts will be holding a CD release party for their first full-length album in over six years. Formed in 2010 and gaining an instant following as a ferocious two-piece, Indian Handcrafts have expanded into a trio and will be unveiling their new album next week. Known for its distinct brand of darkly crafted psychedelia and intense grooves, this is not an event to be missed.
I had the opportunity to ask Indian Handcrafts founding member Dan Allen a few questions about the upcoming album.
RV: The upcoming Empress in Decline is the first full-length release since 2016’s Creeps. Where does the name come from and what can listeners expect?
DA: The name Empress in Decline came about during the pandemic. When we were shut down and looking at mortality on a global level, we felt it was representative of the time and what the planet had been going through for years with climate change, civil disobedience, and everyone at each other's throats.
This time around, we are bringing some speed to the songs. When we were a two-piece, we really worked on our grooves and a lot of busy riffs, but with the addition of Leland (on bass), we’ve really been able to work on chords, leads and dissonance within the song structures. This is also our first release out of the 'bethlab', so we had extra time to really play with overdubs and vocals. Lots of treats in this one.
RV: As mentioned, Empress in Decline is the band’s first full-length album with bassist Leland Burmania. How has this added to the overall tone and feel of the new album?
DA: Leland is a perfect fit as he understands the vibe and shares a similar taste in music as Brandyn and I. This was also the first time on a recording where someone else had planted the seeds for some of the material with riffs and ideas, so it was a nice way to expand musicality and creativity.
RV: Indian Handcrafts have previously covered Warsaw by Joy Division and Live to Tell by Madonna. Are there any other classics you would like to take on? KISS? Kim Mitchell? Nash the Slash?
DA: Funny you mention that as Brandyn and I are a part of a KISS cover project by the name of Krystal Beth. 'B' and I have covered a ton of KISS songs in the past already as a two-piece, so that was bound to happen. We actually named our home studio the bethlab. I’ve always wanted to record a Colonizer cover EP of Max Webster songs, and Dead Cosmetics recorded a cover of Swing Shift by Nash the Slash, which will be on our full-length coming out this fall.
The radio show I hosted for CISO, Undercurrents, is really when I got into Nash, and he’s been a huge influence on me creatively for the past nine months.
RV: In the last few years, you’ve worked on and, in some instances, released projects with Grale, RipCrafts (with The Rip Nancies), Dead Cosmetics, and Colonizer, to name a few. How has working on all these projects affected your approach to the new album?
DA: Well, Empress in Decline was actually recorded just prior to the pandemic and everything else, with the exception of the RipCrafts covers, came out after, so with that being said, I guess we’ll see when we start demoing for the new album this winter.
RV: Do you bring any specific goals or criteria to any of your projects?
DA: Yes. I’m a fan of many genres of music, so basically, whenever I have an itch, I need to scratch it. Lately, I’ve really been into darker synth music and, more particularly, the label Dais Records, so I recently started recording some of that music, which I’ll be getting an ongoing collaborator to sing on top of. The influences can range anywhere from black metal to psych. Lately, I’ve really been huge into '70s Zam rock Paul Ngozi and Nigerian band Mdou Moctar, so anything can happen, I guess.
RV: Your radio show, Undercurrents, on Max FM (CISO-FM), wrapped up in February. Why was it important to you to curate that program and what was one of your favourite discoveries or moments?
DA: The radio show was interesting and the outline of the show was given to me, which I took as a challenge. I had not been paying a lot of attention to what had been going on in the underground scenes in other provinces throughout Canada. Through that, I extended the show to include vinyl nights, American perspectives, tour stories and Indigenous specials, which were important for me to be an Indigenous person.
The little box that I was given started to take on a life of its own until CISO decided to cancel the show, but that’s a whole other story. That being said, when it was going, my favourite moments were having my three-year-old as a co-host, The COVID Show and having friends “endorse” the show by loaning their voices for either interviews or for the show drops in between songs. The logo also rules.
Most importantly, I played hundreds of Canadian artists that otherwise wouldn’t have been played up here, let alone by any other FM stations, so I’m really proud of that.
RV: If you could play one song for one person (living or otherwise), what song would it be and who is that person?
DA: I’d play Foo Fighters for Kurt Cobain's corpse to make him regret ever using heroin and buying firearms. Disclaimer: I don’t hate Foo Fighters, I just prefer Nirvana and hate heroin.
Or… “I’d like to buy the world a coke" by Hilltop, famous '70s television Coca-Cola commercial because that’s what this world really needs now — more Coke.
Check out Criminal, the new single from Indian Handcrafts, by clicking here.
The Empress in Decline CD release party is a 19-plus event and will be held Thursday, July 21 at The Queens Hotel in downtown Barrie. The bill also includes Mount Cyanide and Golden Ohms. Tickets to the can be found here.
