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| Gdansk and Daybreak Gentlemen |
March 12 2013 – T-Mak World presents Indie On Indie where we match up two musicians of different bands and give them the task to review one of the other band’s songs. In this ongoing series we will match up bands with similar styles of music, as well as bands on opposite sides of the musical spectrum. Kick back, listen to each tune and read what the other band has to say about it. If you have a suggestion for a cool match up or are in a band and want to be featured email us here.
- Artist 1 – Josh Niven is the guitarist/bassist of Toronto’s Daybreak Gentlemen. The song he picked for Artist 2 to review is Belles.
- Artist 2 – Tim Mann is the vocalist/guitarist of Hamilton’s Gdansk. The song he picked for Artist 1 to review is Ships At Sea.
The sun pours through my window as I sit down to listen to “Ships At Sea” by Gdansk on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Immediately I’m greeted with a laid back warm synth tone that almost seems to echo the warmth of the sun on my face. A shimmering guitar lick punches through creating a feeling of melancholy while floating through space. At this point there is nothing left to do but sit back and see where this tune takes you.
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| Gdansk |
The vocals are super tight throughout and the backing harmonies sit just perfectly creating a very relaxed ambient feel to the song. I’ll admit that as a guitarist when its all said and done my focus inevitably falls on “whats the guitar doing on this track”? Ships At Sea defiantly has that moment where you simply enjoy a cosmic, mind-bending, supersonic guitar bit! For me, instantly I was taken to an Eddie Hazel “play like your mother just died” moment in hearing the solo. Tone and verb smash through with the vocal and create a pretty epic moment in the tune! After hearing Ships At Sea I felt a little morose, but at the same time refreshed – a tune & a band defiantly worth checking out!!
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| Daybreak Gentlemen |
Now, this was actually a really hard song to critique or even review because of what it is, which is a demo. The band says so themselves in the description on soundcloud. Now that said, I hear a bunch of great ideas. The synth that opens the song is perfect and sets a nice tone. The verse and chorus are melodically strong and the hooks work really well. Nice low verse with half shouted/sung chorus. A fantastic Julian Casablancas style voice doesn’t hurt either! The guitar sound is particularly nice. Sounds a Telecaster or Strat into a Fender amp of some sort and it is the perfect. Albert Hammond Jr. would be proud! And possibly the best part of the song is that nothing is overblown. Everything is concise, and to the point. No indulgence into anything excessive, the song is stripped down into its basic elements and it suits the band well! They play exactly what’s need instead of over playing
Previous Indie On Indie Features:
Oct 2012 – Last Bullet vs. TimeGiant
Nov 2012 – One Bad Son vs. The Blue Stones
Dec 2012 – In My Coma vs. The Blue Stones
Jan 2013 – Bella Clava vs. Dyadics
Feb 2013 – Alert The Medic vs. Little Foot, Long Foot
