Citywide Vacuum

Citywide Vacuum has quickly become well established as a live electronic band in Windsor’s bourgonning music scene. Calling two guys with some electronics a “band” might seem strange to some, but Trevor Malcolm and Pat Petro played their music live with more improvisation than most traditional style “rock” groups. Trevor's experiences with experimental, classical, and avant-rock music, including his work with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra and his time spent as a member of the Butthole Surfers (during their “Touch and Go” years) and Windsor legends Luxury Christ, led him to ask friend Pat (DJ and near-talented punk rock bassist) to form a live electronic ensemble. Things took off from there. Since their first gig, the live music that Citywide Vacuum played had grown more sophisticated and varied.

But Citywide Vacuum shifted several gears over the last couple of years with the addition of vocalist Nancy Drew and drummer Liam O’Donnell. Liam, originally from London, had been playing with quite a number of Windsor musicians since moving to Windsor until finding a perfect match with Citywide Vacuum. Nancy has been a solid member of the Windsor scene as well, most notibly as vocalist/lyricist for Luxury Christ. She has also worked many different bands and artists, among which were Greig Nori and Richie Hawtin, who was provided not only with vocals but also his latter-day hairstyle!
With the release of their first album, Citywide Vacuum have created a "blue northern", affecting weather systems globally. By not adhering to any one musical style, they have absorbed the better aspects of punk, new wave, dub, and jazz into a mélange unlikely to be replicated. This unique effort is the brainchild four friends who all have entirely different musical backgrounds. As an ensemble, they instinctively stay out of each other's way in the service of the music. Citywide Vacuum's first album, called Pact, courageously refers to nothing before it. They call their sound "more recent wave", or “newer wave” in a bemused effort to categorize a truly individual approach to the art of song writing and performance.
Expect 10 tracks of subtle, innocuous tune-making, leading to a future where all influences are non-consciously absorbed into a world of serene, joyous dance and neo-jazz. It is music that neither eschews nor pursues commercial value. The listener will be guided through a soundscape of electro-acoustic hodge podge that rarely becomes too gorgeous. It is music that is easy to "get", but hard to define. The album has three or four different styles of song on it and is a good representation of their back catalogue, which has grown voluminous.