A Waste Odyssey

4.5 stars
A Waste Odyssey
We are Mourning People
(I’m Trying Records)

www.myspace.com/awasteodyssey
Methinks something’s brewing on the Beaver Bus. A Waste Odyssey, like fellow I’m Trying act Lyzie Burt, is originally from the Selkirk area. But there’s nothing backwoods about the five-piece band. This six-song EP is full of hooky rock, intelligent lyrics and sonic sophistication. Engineered by James Humberstone, the mix on We are Mourning People is crisp and lively, Eric McEwen’s drums sound huge and vocalist Alexander Parasdoski cuts through everything with ease. The Action Set in Stone sets the terrific tone, giving way to tracks such as Burgundy, an anthemic pop song with a touch of punk, and My Deer Headed Friend, a slow-burner that builds to an Attack in Black-like awesomeness.
– Jared Story - Uptown Magazine

Dawn of Band. When it came to choosing a name, Winnipeg’s A Waste Odyssey went with a cinematic classic: 2001: A Space Odyssey.

"I saw the movie for the first time right before we formed this band," says guitarist Thomas Pashko, 20. "A Waste Odyssey came from a joke I made in the new year. I’m just a really pessimistic person and I made the joke that 2010 is going to be a waste odyssey."

Its title may be inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 sci-fi flick, but A Waste Odyssey’s music is more Arcade Fire and Attack in Black than Richard Strauss or György Ligeti. Formed in 2008 in Lockport, Man., the indie-rock band released its first full-length album, What They Tell the Sea, in the spring of 2010 and recently recorded a six-song EP.

That’s a pretty good pace for a group that formed to play Pinkerton.

"We started this band with the idea that we were going to cover Weezer songs," says vocalist Alexander Paradoski, 20. "We covered one and then we started writing like crazy. We’re just creative dudes, we love making stuff."

While its debut was a mix of pop and folk with a touch of punk, the EP, engineered by James Humberstone (Kids on Fire), is most definitely a rock record. Pashko says the more aggressive direction is a natural evolution, not brought on by a black monolith.

"At no point did we ever sit down and say, ‘We are going to start X kind of band,’" says Pashko who, along with Paradoski, is joined in A Waste Odyssey by guitarist Christopher Neskar, bassist Kristopher Matheson and drummer Eric McEwen.

"I think (What They Tell the Sea) had a folky vibe because it started off as us on acoustics and, having previously been in punk bands, that also influenced us, but at no point did we sit down and say we are going to try and do this. Also, when we started the band and wrote that first record, it was when we were taking a break between high school and university. None of us were really doing anything; we were just making songs because we were bored. Now we have a bit more purpose."

A Waste Odyssey plans to release the EP, tentatively titled Deerhead, sometime in January. In the meantime you can hear one of the new songs, Burgundy, at www.myspace.com/awasteodyssey. - Uptown Magazine