barley and the durt
Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada | SELF
Music
Press
"Quirky, off-the-wall lyrics and an interesting mix of tunes blending catchy, grungy rockers with a bit of funk, folk and country ... Kolin is all over the place style-wise, but his personality shines through on every track." - Eric Lewis/EastCoastNoise.com - EastCoastNoise
Moncton's own Kolin Barley has assembled an all-st...
Moncton's own Kolin Barley has assembled an all-star cast of some of the best musicians on the East Coast to help him bring his debut album of quirky, bluesy alternative rock to life. For starters, East Coast Music Award winner Robin Anne Ettles produced the record and played a half-dozen instruments on it. Danny Bourgeois, Chris Colepaugh, Fred Hétu (who plays a fantastic bunch of keys on the album's second track), Steve LeBlanc and Carey Beck played on the album. Melanie Keith and Andrea Somers each sang on the album. It's a who's who of some of the city's best. So you know the playing it top notch.
The songs, all penned by Barley save for "Invisible, I Am", written by Ettles, are mostly dark and dirty acoustic guitar-driven rockers. The quirky lyrics about drugs, alcohol and troubled relationships -- "Your ego is so big, you comb your hair with the Gunningsville Bridge" -- make you wonder where Barley's head is at sometimes, but it's a fun, interesting trip.
Barley's singing -- with a gritty, nasally voice on most tracks -- doesn't sound skilled or practised, but instead spur of the moment. It takes a bit of getting used to, but isn't bad. On "Pedal To The Metal", however, he surprises with a nice singing voice.
"I Shot My Wife Today" is kind of humourous. It has a simple synth riff (which sounds like an old video game in a weird way) and bouncy rhythm that you'd think really wouldn't fit the lyrics.
The album bounces around in style here and there. "Carmen" starts off slow and builds into a messy grunge tune. Ettles' "Invisible, I Am" has a slight industrial feel to it. "Gunningsville Bridge" is a piano-led ballad.
It's an interesting listen from no doubt an interesting character. - Times & Transcript, article by Eric Lewis, August 2007
Discography
SKELETON CLOSET
To be released September 2010
BARLEY & THE DURT
Regional Launch - June 2007
National Launch - November 2008
1994 VICIOUS CIRCLE (vintage cassette recording).
Photos
Bio
Kolin Barley
Kolin Barley is a man of extremes. He catapults between passionate self-confidence and bleak self-doubt, and touches every degree of emotion in between. The Moncton-based songwriter continues his exploration of life and love with his second album, Skeleton Closet. Barley specializes in aggressively provocative rock songs, which mirror his curiosity for life's most lavish highs and most socially uncouth lows. There are wild adventures and honest observations filled with humour, joy, despair, and madness.
Joining Barley for the rowdy ride on Skeleton Closet are some of Moncton’s most acclaimed musicians – producer Robin Anne Ettles on bass, Alex Madsen (The Divorcees) and John Maher on electric guitar, and Moe Fougere on drums, with legendary road warrior Chris Colepaugh chiming in on pedal steel. Barley leads the feral pack with his unconventional vocals and acoustic guitar.
United, the Durt take the party to the next level, and they bring the audience along for the ride. Stepping on stage with five dozen or so years of combined performance experience, the Durt deliver an intense live collaboration of brazen rock and roll. And live to laugh about it time and again.
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