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Sick track from Montreal’s own Cannonhead! Too dope! - Pure Luck X
The Cannonhead crew just recently released their video for “Goodnight Merriah”. This track is one of my favourites off the album and the visuals for the song are really awesome. Worn-out instruments, lovely ladies and mysterious shadowy figures, the video is dopeness defined. Album coming soon. Enjoy! - Visions of Music
It’s a Wednesday afternoon, and I’m sitting (read: drinking) at Mad Hatter’s on Crescent with Cannonhead, an up-and-coming local hiphop outfit. Not to piss them off, but the beats are great, ranging from mellow, almost ambient bass and drums to frenetic indie rock riffs (check out the album’s fourth track “Stars” for a dose of both). But never mind the beats… if there’s one thing I don’t want to do, it’s downplay the rhymes- the rap is all there.
In the age of Taylor Gang and Waka Flaka Flame, it means something when a group has it going for themselves- not just heavy bass-driven beats, not just a catchy lick or two, not even just a repetitive hook (no “SWAG SWAG SWAG” on this record), but genuine lyricism with a real full band sound to back it up. Cannonhead’s wordsmithery has a solid rap attitude- the lyrics are intelligent without trying to be too intellectual, retaining that hardcore underground feel without ending up sounding too “gangster.”
“FROM ST.HENRI TO NDG; LOOKING FOR A WOMAN TO SATISFY ME”
The band itself is comprised of laid back Montréal natives who are at ease with themselves and the music scene. There’s a casual relaxation about them, dressed like 80s punks straight out of the Bowery- they have a genuine, downplayed rock and roll feel.
The band described their influence as ranging from Rage Against the Machine to Jay-Z, protest-rock to hip-hop. The range in their style comes from an eclectic musical background- the MCs were raised sucking at the teat of classic hip-hop, while the drummer and bassist are green-blooded punk-rock fiends (with a side project by the name of the Bloody Cuntrags).
Anyway, to cut to the chase, Cannonhead is releasing a free album “we can be silent now.” The album bursts from the seams with real musicianship, and you can hear the finesse, the work put into the production. Every second of the album fits in perfectly with the rest; a self-described “stream of consciousness delivered on a spaceship.”
The record is all over the place, but in the best possible way- a perfect blend of the band’s influences from rap, punk rock, and the inevitable flavor of the Montreal indie scene. The album shifts back and forth between the more psychedelic-indie side of rap (Goodnight Merriah) to lo-fi punk attitude (Have love, will travel) with Freddie 5ive’s lyrical storytelling weaving the whole thing together.
Given that it’s a free download, you have no excuse to pass up on the offer- get it now, so that when Cannonhead is screaming down at you from the top of the world, you can turn to your friends and say, “I heard about these guys back when they were chugging brews at Hatter’s and jamming on weeknights at Crobar.” To sate your desire until then, here’s the music video for “Goodnight Merriah”. - The Main Montreal
Wow!! More talent from the great city of Montreal. I swear they’re putting something amazing in that city’s water, I need to go back there soon. Cannonhead uses a mix of hip-hop, blues, electronic and rock sounds in their music and it’s so amazing! These guys are really pushing the boundaries of music. I might be hyping them too much because it’s my first time listening to them… BUT FUCK THAT!! It’s two tracks of pure eargasm. Hit the jump for music videos. Listen below and download for free! - Visions of Music
Discography
2012 - We Can Be Silent Now
Photos
Bio
Montreal, guilty of many things, has never been accused of breaking ground in the world of rap music. Canada as a whole, despite having taken various cracks at it, has more often than not failed in the genre – a genre unique in that, historically at least, an artist?s sound has been largely dictated by the city from which they stem. Cannonhead?s previous incarnation, Velvet Trench Vibes, made certain inroads – a MuchMusic commercial here, a ‘Best Musical Acts’ classification by Montreal Mirror readers there. Over the last seven or eight years they?ve earned their stripes, in part, by opening for many of the notable acts who?ve come through Montreal, one stop amongst the six or seven these artists were to make as they rapped their way across Canada.
Nine new songs form their latest album, „We can be silent now?. It sounds like catching guys who too often partake in arguably too much on the day when they haven?t, as if eager to make amends. It?s spacey, but never despondent. Its sound lets you in, while its lyrics tell you what it?s like to be there. Chances are you?ve been there too. It?s rap with whimsy, though whimsical only in the way that most things are...only in the ways in which they?re different. It?s different. Some call it black rock and roll (no, not that black rock and roll), but you don?t have to. One could mistake its sometimes ominous sound for a gravity in tone. The subject matter is no more serious, nor any less so, than that of an average person?s day to day, and all the same themes are present. A sense of humour, while subtle, pervades.
Cannonhead is comprised of five members. Two rap (Freddie “5ive” de Andrade, Spin), while Dillon Crosilla (guitar), Toge (bass), and Max Lapointe (drums) accompany. Freddie 5ive produces much of the music, pieced together from sounds more varied than you?d imagine, including lap-steel guitar, banjo, and auto-harp.
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