Black Feelings
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Black Feelings

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"BROTHERS IN ARMS - Montreal three-piece Black Feelings is in control of its destiny"

Community has always been a strong suit of the Montreal music scene. For all the years when no one was paying attention, musicians played together, prayed together, shared members and resources, built venues and little labels that eventually loomed large � foundations that are still evident today � and, more importantly, lessons were passed on to a new generation of young guns that make the beautiful noise today.

Let�s use Black Feelings as an example. The trio assembles two-thirds of the once-prominent and genre-defying Les Angles Morts, namely Owain Lawson on drums/vocals and Kyle Fostner on keys and vocals, alongside guitarist/bassist Brian Mitchell. The band drop their highly-anticipated, self-titled debut this month on local tastemakers Alien8. �Owain and I had just come out of the ashes of a band called Who�s the Ghost, named after the best game ever involving bed sheets and drugs, so it only seemed natural to keep churning out gold hits,� says Mitchell of the early days, circa 2007.

Visions of the Future, Visions of the Past

Black Feelings got their start playing Montreal�s burgeoning alternative spaces scene. At a time when the city appears to be cracking down on the smaller spaces in town � do a bit of research on what Casa del Popolo, Divan Orange and le Cagibi have been through of late � cool, off-the-beaten-path and artist-friendly joints abound: Lab Synth�se, Friendship Cove, Eastern Bloc, La Brique, Squalor House to name but a few. Their brethren/sisters in arms, keepers of the flame, ride the same dark waves they do, creating a new Montreal buzz heavy on the psychedelic doses of rock, punk, pop and electronics: Dead Wife, Grand Trine, Red Mass, Ultrathin and Tonstartssbandht. �I�m really happy about the kind of community happening right now,� mentions Owain Lawson., �There have been a lot of hardworking indie pop bands trying to make it in Montreal for years, for whom I have a lot of respect, and now there�s an energetic new movement of people who are doing what they feel and being rad.�

I throw out the term �psychic rock� to the band, in trying to aptly describe Black Feelings and their compadres� brand of forward-thinking stomp. �I like the term �psychic� because it hints at that, and because it sounds very strange,� adds Lawson. �My girlfriend�s mom has �music is the sound of feelings� written in silver cursive above her kitchen table, I think that also sums it up. �Psychedelic� is more of a recognizable genre term.�

Whatever you call it, Black Feelings rock hard and loud. Black Feelings was carefully recorded and put together by the band and engineer Mark Lawson, and it captures the trio elevating their sound to the heavens, pushed by back-breaking beats, far-out vocals, keyboard orchestra and just the right touch of the weird. Pinning down Black Feelings� hopes in advance of the release is easy, says Owain. �I hope very much that the record goes to the top of the charts and we become famous.� Ha!

-Steve Guimond
original at http://www.nightlifemagazine.ca/magazine/view/2156 - Nightlife Magazine


Discography

"Black Feelings" s/t 12"/CD/digital release on alien8 records (www.alien8recordings.com)

"Lost Rings Pt. 1" split 7" w/ LORDS on webe records (www.weberecords.com)

"Lost Rings Pt. 2" split 7" w/ BLUE LIONS on Fan Service records

"Aum Shinrikyo Endless MTL" cassette tape on pasalymany tapes (www.myspace.com/pasalymanytapes)

"Hands of Eyes" CDR on Ghost Tapes

Streaming tracks:

entire record available streaming at
http://www.alien8recordings.com/releases/black-feelings

and some more at
www.myspace.com/bfeelings

tracks that have received airplay:

"Eternal Bad Trip" (from "Black Feelings" LP alien8) - CBC Radio 3, Art for Spastics, others

"Lost Rings Pt. 1" (from "Black Feelings" LP alien8) - CKUT, CJLO, others

tracks 1-6 of the album "Black Feelings" have received airplay.

Photos

Bio

Black Feelings are the essence of a power trio: each member of the three-piece exhibiting a great deal of power while the whole remains balanced. Conisiting of two former members of Montreal�s Les Angles Morts, the band has developed a unique a hybrid of the British post punk and experimental scenes that spawned the likes of This Heat, Gang of Four and the Pop Group with heavy traces of psychedelic-goth and cold wave. Like American band The Liars, Black Feelings� penchant for combining a variety of influences to conjure up a sound that is both retro and vitally fresh at the same time. The band�s main vocalist and drummer Owain Lawson is kept busy as he sings and holds down the rhythm section alongside fellow founding member and bassist Brian Mitchell, while the sound is rounded out with shimmering guitar and synth flourishes provided by Kyle Fostner.

Listening to Black feelings self-titled debut is never dull, as moody vibes ebb and flow throughout the long player carried by propulsive bass and drums. For a small band these guys have a huge sound. The drums have an almost war song intensity that helps drive the music alongside the bass, guitars, and synth all the while delivering really catchy anthemic songs. The feeling one experiences listening to this self-titled debut is very positive, yet with a lingering feelings of darkness hiding in the shadows.

In their two years of existence Black Feelings have managed a couple of tours of the Eastern U.S. as well as an Eastern Canadian tour in support of Tyvek. During this time they have managed to release a cassette as well as 7� single and have another 45 rpm on the way via UK label We Be Records. For this upcoming full length the have enlisted the help of engineer Mark Lawson, who�s credits include Arcade Fire, Beirut, Final Fantasy, Akron Family and The Unicorns to name a few.