A New Honour
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A New Honour

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"A New Honour - The Untitled Truce CD Review"

4/5 Stars

This first release from local rock quartet, A New Honour, is radio-ready with a hard-rock sound that is not afraid to dip into occasional ballad territory. The production values makes one think of the likes of Three Days Grace and other assorted Canadian rock groups featured heavily on local radio stations but not quite as desperate or even cheesy with the song content. (Fun fact: last year, they had a charting song on Power 97.)

If I may stick with the radio theme, the melodies are strong enough to place them above the typical rock music masses that make one change the station. (I’m eyeing you, Nickelback.) Coupled with this, the lyrics are inspirational-based, instead of pandering to the common themes of loss and heartache that litter the modern airwaves.

So, while strong comparisons can be drawn to the sorts of bands that critics love to blast (I’m guilty of that), A New Honour proves to be worthwhile. It is encouraging to see local talent go that extra mile, attempting something bigger than the usual. What we have here is a band name to keep an eye out for and an album that will satisfy fans of the genre.

— William O’Donnell, staff - The University of Manitoba - The Manitoban


"An honourable mention 'Local rock outfit, A New Honour, on the fast-track to fame'"

For A New Honour, what started as simple online promotion turned into charting on two “Top 10 unsigned rock bands lists,” including the number one position, from 2006 to 2008 (on MySpace.com and Purevolume.com). What started as a contest to appear on the radio turned into several singles being released on three local radio stations daily rotations compilation (Power 97, Freq 107 and CHVN) as well as two compilation CDs. What started as a jumble of U of M students playing a free show outside our very own Manitoban office has turned into a rock band that not only placed as a runner-up in the first ever Hard Rock Café/ EMI Great Canadian Band Challenge contest (with over 500 entrants) but garnered nationwide attention, sparking them to record their debut album.

With their debut album The Untitled Truce launching, their March 14 CD release party (then onto CD Plus and other such record stores), the whole group is indescribably excited. I had a chance to speak to William Prince, the band’s lead vocalist and guitar player, as well as the primary song composer for the group.

I asked him about the band’s plans for after the album debuts. “We’re hoping to shoot a video. That way we can tackle more of the market of the YouTube generation . . . then maybe a spot somewhere on Muchmusic. Just one spot on Much could reach 10,000 people which helps when you can’t tour all the time . . . but it will help us get a chance to tour when people can recognise us from the video.”

Three out of the four members of this group are students at the U of M, and all have busy lives outside of the band. Prince is in the midst of medical school while plans for a tour are in the works.

“It’s a back-and-forth battle sometimes. I always put school first . . . but there’s an itch I’ve got to scratch, about what might happen if I put full attention into the band.” Prince went on to talk about how a cross-Canada tour is being proposed for sometime in July, with hopes of hitting most all the major cities a few times. “You’ve always got to return to a town you’ve played . . . for once the word of mouth spreads . . . we made some good friends in Toronto during the (Great Canadian Band) competition, so we know that we can play many clubs there.”

Despite the excitement over the achievements they’ve met after only existing as a band for a year-and-a-half, Prince does not mind the idea of success coming after some time. “I’m all about paying my dues. I’d rather make a gradual climb and have a career with some longevity.” I asked the inevitable question about tapping into the American market and Prince seemed realistic about it; “America is kind of a Goliath. Even major signed bands from Canada have a hard time making it there. We’d rather sew some roots in Canada before thinking about the U.S.”

A New Honour has been labelled as a “Christian rock band” on many occasions, and I asked about what this means to the group. “That more represents who we are as people than our music . . . it’s not preachy . . . it’s like bands Switchfoot or Underoath. These guys are Christians, but play regular rock music.” Prince also revealed that a well-known Christian music label offered to sign them, but expressed that this band does not want to get pigeonholed with that sort of reputation of being exclusively Christian. A New Honour has hopes of touching the mainstream, and if people wish to investigate their lives further, they are free to do so. As Prince said, “They can always check out our thank you notes in the album.”

When asked further about Prince’s musical inspirations and aims, “I try to take in everything I can from every angle . . . I might write a country song then try to make it more ‘rock anthemy’ . . . so many bands put out stuff about gloom and suffering . . . I write about a hope of climbing back up . . . about a good side to life. The antithesis to emo,” He replied.

Prince and the rest of the band are coming from humble beginnings, but, with such leaps and bounds being made already, who knows what is on the horizon? Prince tells me he is not striving for fame, “I’m kind of shy to even have my picture taken.” But he is setting out to have his dream of having an audience sing his music back to him come true. Simple dreams and humble beginnings may just spawn big things.

The Untitled Truce premieres at the West End Cultural Centre on March 14, where A New Honour will play along with the Kamin Project.

- William O’Donnell, staff - The University of Manitoba - The Manitoban


"A New Honour CD Review"

3.5/5 Stars

A New Honour are a young band who have obviously grown up on Winnipeg radio. The quartet’s debut features 14 tracks of melodic modern rock that is a mixture of Collective Soul’s best work combined with elements of post-grunge, ’90s alt-rock and pop. Many songs on The Untitled Truce have the potential to find their way into a commercial radio station’s rotation, and main songwriter William Prince has the skills to pen a breakthrough hit. They have the modern rock sound and style down. Now they just need to tweak the formula enough to differentiate themselves from countless similar-sounding bands to avoid becoming just another faceless group in an already crowded field.

— Rob Williams - The Winnipeg Free Press


Discography

The Untitled Truce - 14 Track LP Released March 14/2008

Photos

Bio

A New Honour is an emerging alternative rock band from Winnipeg, Canada that came together in September 2006. A line up change of the original three members forced the band find a new drummers and begin tracking their debut record at Studio 11 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Thirty-six songs were narrowed down to 14 for the debut album “The Untitled Truce”. The album spawned their charting single “Artificial” which landed them a spot on two radio station compilation CD’s, “Power 97’s Class of 2007” and “Freq 107’s Local Heroes Frequency Vol. 1”.

The music can be best described as melodic alternative rock. The name sums it all up and describes the band’s attitude towards making music. A new creative outlet was formed and the ability to communicate and lift people up with their inspirational lyrics was seen as an honour to the band. The name, A New Honour, was what the band had been searching for all along.

One of the most impressive facts about the band is their age. All being under 23 years old, the youngest member being 19, the band can only grow stronger in time. Writing songs since the age of 15, songwriter William Prince's talents improve daily and push the band's talent to a whole new level. With lyrics that flow effortlessly alongside well-constructed guitar riffs, it is easy to see why the band has become one of the most played unsigned rock bands on PureVolume.com, and are climbing the charts on MySpace daily.

The band has managed to create an online buzz on sites such as Myspace, Purevolume and Garageband. They have been featured in many newspapers receiving rave reviews for their performances and debut CD. Along with these accolades the band was awarded a special feature on CTV’s Spotlight with Sylvia Kuzyk. A New Honour are no strangers to the airwaves as they have done numerous radio spots on Power 97 and Freq 107 in Winnipeg, as well as receive daily airplay on Winnipeg's primary rock radio stations. On the strength of ‘Artificial’ the band went on to become the runner’s up in the first annual Hard Rock Café/EMI Great Canadian Band Challenge which started with over five hundred online music submissions. At the same time, the band was crowned the regional winners of the nationwide Mazda Muzik Tour in 2008.

Now here in Winnipeg is a developing new force in alternative music. The band has done all the work necessary to build a strong home fan base and are excited to take their show on the road this summer. With a solid debut album under their belt and a fistful of accomplishments, A New Honour is a band certainly on their way to success. Be sure to catch them online, on tour, and gracing the airwaves of your local rock station.