Brother Love Canal
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Brother Love Canal

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"Bnews (Melbourne, Australia)"

Somewhere between Erasure's "Blue Savannah" and Candy Girl's "Fee Fi Fo Fum" lies Canadian pop outfit Brother Love Canal.  Openly gay, this trio's debut album is an eclectic range of tracks that are both pure pop and epic at the same time.  Title track "Little Tingles" has a chorus that explodes in an audio version of widescreen, while there are influences ranging as far as '50s ("Boom Zoom Split"), drum 'n' bass ("Mona"), and the just pure obscene ("I.W.F."). - Lawrence Akers


"701.com (Hamilton, Canada)"

Brother Love Canal offers an energetic concept of electronic originality. The band was formed in 1998 by producer/songwriter Steve Diguay along with vocalists Matt Lucien and Leslea Keurvost. They have established their talents with numerous live performances steming from Toronto Pride 1998 and various television appearances.

Little Tingles, their second CD, has 10 tracks and three bonus tracks. The first single, 'Longfellow Serenade' is a remake of a Neil Diamond classic. The minute I pressed play on my discman, my heart rate sped up and my head started bobbing in rythmic speed to the tempo. 'Hold Tight' is the second single and took my breath away. I closed my eyes and swayed to the vocals and drums. Track seven, titled 'Pom-Pom' has a melodic intro which reminded me of a jewlery box ballerina. It is followed by a heavy mixture of guitars, drum machines and synthesizers. Leslea's sultry vocals sung in French adds to the sensual layout. This is my favorite track on this album.

With cover songs such as Neil Diamond's 'Longfellow Serenade' and Def Leppard's 'Animal' and original singles, I rate this CD with the highest regard. The mixture of dance, pop and punk music is a wonderful combination and provides a nice change to the usual selection. I recommend Little Tingles to anyone who craves a little more than the average album. This is definitely worth checking out. - Erica Leon


"Xtra Magazine (Toronto, Canada)"

Local band Brother Love Canal headed up by queer Steve Diguay just released their debut full-length cd titled Little Tingles. The band previously had released singles including a dance cover of Joni Mitchel’s Clouds which became a minor dance hit a few years ago. Over the last several years Brother Love Canal has worked very hard on it’s high energy live show and has subsequently become one of the premier party bands in the city and one of the two top queer bands alongside Merkury Burn.
There is a very particular Montreal sound on this cd and that’s not just because several of the songs are sung in French. The Montreal sound is very sex positive, eclectic in music styles as many Quebecois bands incorporate dance and rock seamlessly with a gritty underground sound that feels like they are having fun yet are very much politically aware. This band is locally based but incorporate a mixture of Quebecois sexiness alongside Euro-pop hi-energy dance intensity. The first track is a cover of Neil Diamond’s Longfellow Serenade that brilliantly shows off the voice of lead singer Leslea Keurvorst. The track starts off slow and quickly builds like many 80’s dance acts like Erasure with a certain pop-sensibility of Abba. In other words Abba remixed in 2003 with beautifully blended singing and hi-energy music. The second track Hold Tight as with most was written by Steve Diguay and showcases his incredible ability to write catchy pop dance songs. Get Out is a hilarious break up song fit for any drag queen; “Take your toothbrush, Take your clothes, Cause if you were a narcotic I just had an overdose.” The title track Little Tingles is more like a rock opera than euro-pop and Boom Zoom Split is closer to the B52’s. Every track is completely different in musical styles and uses vocals from everyone in the band including Matthew Lucien, Ani Aubin and Diguer himself. This long awaited debut album is the perfect soundtrack for a raucous house party out of control. - Daniel Paquette


"Nightspots (Chicago, USA)"

So there I was, walking down the street with my headphones on my head and a smile on my face. I had just put Little Tingles (www.brotherlovecanal.com), the full-length debut CD by queer Canadian dance group Brother Love Canal into my Walkman and I must have been distracted because I missed the first few seconds of the opening track. But before I knew it, I was singing along to a dance version of a song that I recognized from my youth. Singing along, that is, until I got to the chorus and realized that it was the Neil Diamond song "Longfellow Serenade." I guess you never really know how well suited a sticky-sweet bubblegum pop song from the 70ís is for a dance remake until you actually hear it for yourself. Kudos to Brother Love Canal for allowing me to rethink a song I had previously dismissed. However, Brother Love Canal deserves to be praised for more than just transforming a Neil Diamond rhinestone into a precious gem. True, the trio (Leslea K, Matthew Lucien and Steve Diguer) does have a way with glossy and glimmering dance numbers such as "Hold Tight," Matthewís Sylvester meets Prince vocals on "Get Out!" (the best "beat it" track since Bette Midler sang "You"re Moving Out Today",) "I.W.F." (which stands for "I Wanna Fuck," making it the best T.L.A. [three letter acronym] since Liz Phairís "H.W.C"), "Forever", "Animal", and the three bonus tracks, among which is "Tiens Bon" ("Hold Tight" en Francais). But Brother Love Canal also benefit from having an electroclash sensibility on songs such as the sexy gay title track, the wavy new wave of "Boom Zoom Split", and the French cheer of "Pom-Pom", which should help to broaden its appeal. - Gregg Shapiro


"Queer.de (Cologne, Germany)"

Seichte Schlager unterlegt mit peppigen Beats – und auch aggressive Aufforderungen zum Geschlechtsakt in Punk-Rock-Manier. So gibt sich Brother Love Canal, eine extravagante Gruppe aus dem kanadischen Montréal. Ihre erste Langspiel-CD "Little Tingles" ist auch in Deutschland als Import zu erhalten – und wird wohl bald in schwulen Wohnzimmern und in Schwuppenclubs ihre Heimat finden. Auf kanadischen CSDs ist das Trio schon seit Jahren zu Hause.

Kopf des Brother Love Canal ist der schwule Steve Diguay. Er ist ein Verwandlungskünstler: Vor Auftritten sieht er aus wie eine Mischung aus Buddy Holly und Bill Gates – wenn es aber los geht und die Schminke sitzt, greift er zur Gitarre und geht ab wie von der Tarantel gestochen. Die Band gründete er 1998 mit seinem Kumpel Matt Lucien und der Sängerin Leslea Keurvorst, der man anmerkt, dass sie Klassik, Jazz und asiatischen Gesang studiert hat. - Dennis Klein


"Swerve Magazine (Winnipeg, Canada)"

Well, another Canadian Dance Band attempts to take on the world, and the Toronto-based Brother Love Canal just might do it with their album, Little Tingles. Mixing Dance with Blondie-esque 80s pop camp and a remake here and there, they have a good spectrum covered.

The initial track, “Longfellow Serenade,” gets you in the mood to dance within the first few seconds, until you realize you’ve heard this tune before. That’s right, it’s a cover of Neil Diamond. But it’s so much fun that you keep on dancing. This is followed by one of the singles “Hold Tight” (a French version is included), an original that keeps up the same energy. The third track though is one that makes the album worth purchasing on its own, the extremely camp “Get Out!” It’s a so-long-see-ya-if-you-don’t-get-struck-by-a-bus tune with scary vocals and lyrics like “Go to France/go to Peru/go by Plane/go by train/or drop dead it’s up to you,” and “It was nice/it was swell/now it’s over/go to hell!” Equally campy is the in-your-face “I.W.F,” a tribute in the midst of everything else going on, to simply want to – well you know – the “F” word, with the massive vocal break, “I’m one choice piece of ass!” The 80s style title tracks have rather seductive lyrics amidst the quirkiness, such as “You lift your shirt up/your hand slips down into your jeans/And when I look up/I see a little hope, a little bulge, and a little grin.”

BLC have performed at many gay-oriented or gay-positive events throughout Toronto and the surrounding area, such as Toronto’s AIDS Walk this year. There is something on Brother Love Canal’s album to give almost everyone a little tingle… down there. - Derek Penhale


Discography

1998: Both Sides Now (EP)
2000: Special Pride 2000 Preview Release (EP)
2002: IWF Single (EP)
2002: Little Tingles (LP)

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

Brother Love Canal is the Brainchild of producer/songwriter Steve Diguer. His goal: to create a pop group that would take the energy and excitement of electronic music out of the studio and onto the stage. The result is a gorgeous blend of sentimental pop with sexy dance grooves and punk rock attitude - a sound and style that can only be compared to Blondie’s explosion onto the charts twenty years ago.

Formed in 1998 with vocalists Matt Lucien and Leslea Keurvorst, Brother Love Canal released its debut CD which contained their first singles, “Candyass”, “Boom Zoom Split”, and their own jump-up house mix of Joni Mitchel’s “Both Sides Now.”

This was soon followed up by a performance at Toronto Pride 1998 and a feature article in XTRA Magazine, Canada’s largest Gay/Lesbian weekly. Since then, they have become regulars on Toronto’s legendary live music scene, with performances at clubs like El Mocambo, Rivoli, Reverb, and the Horseshoe Tavern to name a few.

They also proved to be as dynamic on camera as on stage, with feature performances on U8TV (Alliance), Volt (TVOntario), Sorties Gaies (Canal Vie), Pridevision, as well as two separate appearances on Breakfast Television (City-TV).

Their second CD, launched at Toronto Pride 2000, earned them the cover of Now Magazine. It would also attract the attention of the Toronto Star, Fab Magazine, and again XTRA who named Brother Love Canal “Best Local Band” for 2001.

Their dance singles “Hold Tight” and “Forever” have been remixed by DJs from as far away as Australia, France, and the Netherlands as well as renowned DJ Remixers Julian Marsh, Paul Grace, and DJ Control Top.

”Little Tingles” their first full-length CD album was released in late 2002 to 500 V.I.P. guests at Toronto’s legendary Cabbagetown Boxing Club; a unique coup for a group whose content and appeal tend to skew on the gay side. The event which featured live fight demonstrations and performances by Brother Love Canal in the ring, was covered by the Toronto Star and City-tv.

After a year and a half of performing in support of the album, throughout Toronto and on the College Scene, Brother Love Canal is calling it quits. They invite all their fans, friends, and supporters to join them for one final performance at Tequila Lounge in Toronto, on Thursday July 15.