Chladny
Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Established. Jan 01, 2016
Music
Press
Toronto's eclectic folk-rock outfit Chladny draws together members from some of the city's weirdest and wildest groups. On the band's expansive new full-length The Finch Flyer you'll find contributors who've played with to the no-wave chameleons Luge, the low-fi roots rockers of Hobby, and the buzzing dream-pop act Tallies, not to mention some thrilling hyphen-punk records from Westelaken and WLMRT. "Scheduling practices can be rough," Evan Chladny admits when summing up his collaborators' number of active side-gigs, "but they're making it work."
The scale tips towards punk rock on that collective resume, and while Chladny keeps it less aggressive on average, a sense of wild adventurism still comes to the fore on their varied and eclectic new LP. While Evan clearly holds the Bonny Prince Billy, Van Morrison, and Elliot Smith in high regard, his arrangements never loses a sense of play while following in such artistically serious footsteps.
Indeed the joys of The Finch Flyer are truly found in how fearlessly it shifts gears. There's little common ground between the loose garage rocker "Whoah" and the jangling soundscape of "Time Traveller's Waltz" but the contrast makes them all the more thrilling together.
Listen: Chladny - The Finch Flyer @ Bandcamp
After 10 songs The Finch Flyer closes with "Sex," a slack-rocker that instantly reminds me of that first album from the beloved Vancouver outfit Ladyhawk. Chladny's breathy vocals float over some comfortingly lazy opening licks, giving it a cool Sunday morning vibe that you can wrap yourself in.
I'm excited to be the first to share the "Sex" video with you today. Evan broke down the visual narrative for me:
"Watch Tobias Lopez navigate two very different relationships - a new friend and an imaginary one. Just as he's getting comfortable, his new friend disappears mysteriously. His imaginary friend (Chladny, as a dancing spaceman) guides him on a quest to find her. The Finch Flyer is aiming to make you laugh and cry in equal parts. It's like having a new experience with a very old friend. You can probably find a couple feelings you forgot about in this one."
Chladny features Evan Chladny on guitar and lead vocals, Cameron Fraser on guitar and percussion, Stephen Pitman on bass, and Tobias Hart drumming. Fraser and Pitman both sing on the record, which features additional contributions from Victor Xu (organ), Vanessa Ohberg (vocals), and Duncan Wardlaw (bass).
The band will play an LP release show for the album tomorrow, Saturday, May 4, at the Baby G in Toronto backed by Kaleidoscope Horse, WLMRT, and Your Grandad. It's part of the Redeemable Screwball Revue showcase presented by CLASS. Comedians Che Durana, Michelle Coburn, Patrick Ronan, and Jordanne Brown will also perform. You should probably be there. - Some Party
The six people in the band play in a handful of punk bands in Toronto – groups like Westelaken, WLMRT and Luge – but here they brought an endearing Basement Tapesy looseness to country and folk-rock. They were almost comically casual, all crossed legs and tossed-off harmonies, falling somewhere between Pavement and the Band. It felt like six pals having fun, which spread into the crowd too. RICHARD TRAPUNSKI - Now Torotno
Chladny is a solo bedroom project that describes itself as “pretty funny and pretty sad”. They released an EP this past June called “The Boy Is Dead” which is available digitally or on cassette through their bandcamp page. The tune “Drugs” is a very chilled out track. Folk rock mixed with some slacker rock vibes. The melody is easy to grasp and the lead guitar licks over top really add a gentle aura to the song. Fire these tunes up one day when you want to relax and feel good about whatever you’re up to. – Kris Gies - the deli magazine
Discography
The Finch Flyer - Apr 2019 - https://open.spotify.com/album/0Yh4EUWZ7kqzHTdXhEht0q?si=MqmwtlyWQzSSl84UAn4_aw
Good God/Drugs - Dec 2018 - https://chladny.bandcamp.com/album/good-god-drugs
The Boy is Dead - Jun 2017 - https://chladny.bandcamp.com/album/the-boy-is-dead
Chorea - Sep 2016 - https://chladny.bandcamp.com/album/chorea
Photos
Bio
Chladny is a folk-rock band fronted by singer-songwriter Evan Chladny. He grew up in Ajax, where his father worked as a producer, operating a music studio out of his basement. Soon after relocating to Toronto, Chladny teamed up with Luge members Cam Fraser and Tobias Hart, as well as Stephen Pitman from Tallies to form his band. Chladny’s song writing comes from a folk-rock tradition, but can sometimes feel rough and seemingly post-punk. They draw inspiration from artists such as Van Morrison, Elliot Smith and The Steve Miller band, and you can really hear the eclectic diversity in the song crafting.
Over the past few years, Chladny has become a staple in Toronto’s independent music scene, bringing an unhinged sense of humour and honesty to their performances. Evan once performed a solo set without even bothering to bring an instrument - the result teetering on an equally heartfelt and unsettling performance art piece. Their music contains the brutal candidness of Sun Kil Moon and Songs: Ohia, while also regularly nose-diving into power pop anthems.
Chladny has independently released two EPs and a
single, leading up to their debut full-length album The Finch Flyer, which was
released in April, 2019. Recently, Alex Baigent (Westelaken) and Ryan Hage
(WLMRT) joined the band in time to embark on a short Canadian tour. The timing
of these additions feel suspicious, because they are the only members to have a
driver’s license. All those different genres mash together nicely into this
slack-rock album. As a six piece, Chladny is currently working on a new release
slated for early 2020. It’s pretty funny and sad sometimes.
Band Members
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