Invasions

"Only a few of this city’s up-and-coming acts have digested their influences as thoroughly as Invasions. Their singer rocks a Dylanesque yelp, their only-lightly distorted guitars are pure British Invasion (ha) and their drummer has clearly spent a few hours with The Strokes’ first album. And yet, the local quartet swagger like they willed themselves into existence — there’s no homage being paid here, only brazen theft. Which explains why Magic is as full of ebullient glee as a convertible full of joyriding hooligans. “Rat Bastard” is a blast from start to finish, “Out Of Touch” crams about 10 hooks into its three-and-a-half minutes and “Atlantic Blvd.” is jaunty, cheeky and simply terrific. Let the invasion(s) begin."
- Dave Morris - Eye Weekly

"The psychedelic capital of the world (Toronto) pulls another great band from it’s seemingly bottomless magician’s hat. Invasions sit comfortably at the edge of the swirling psych vortex, just dipping their toes in and pulling their own pop faces while they’re at it, oblivious as to how special this music actually is. “Helpless Magic” is upbeat and full of swagger, with a melody that sticks like bubblegum to your boots, guitars like uncontrollable dogs licking your face, drums jumping up and down on your back, and a vocal delivery of totally wasted cool. There’s only one thing I can possible say to sum this song up - 'It’s magic…' "
- Smally - Daydream Generation Blog

Canada is going through a changing of the guard. Instead of the collectives and folk influenced pop we have been successfully pumping out the last few years, there are a staggering amount of young band full of vim and vigor, ripping through quick hitting, rough guitar laced numbers that get you up and dancing. The latest to catch my ear is Toronto's Invasions.

This quintet combines punk rock grit and melodic indie riffs on their debut EP Magic. Six songs and only a concise eighteen minutes, on first listen I got the same reaction I did when TPC came out. Not because they sound similar - the Invasions vibe definitely sounds like it originated across the pond and plays more with melody instead of just crunching guitars - but because the EP is enough of a teaser to make you want to pay attention. The band obviously can write catchy tracks, but for me the ear grabber is the organ they use to beef up tracks (like the infectious Day by Day or the summery She'll Let Yu Know) and contrast the sloppy guitar riffs.

Unlike so many young bands, Magic shows Invasions are more than a one trick pony. Songs like the energetic Rat Bastard fit into the mold you'd expect from a new garage band, but they also can slow things down with the jangle, harmonica filled Atlantic Boulevard, lounge it up with a surprising closer (Hopeless Magic) or let a bouncy bass line drive the mood. It's on 18 minutes, but Invasions show that Toronto might be a place to watch footie and toss pints. Both very good things in my humble opinion. - herohill.com

Q: According to your Myspace blog, you’ve had problems recording as a band, “whether it be the four failed demos we have tried to put out or the disagreements among us while recording leading to, well, not our best performances.” Yet, you recorded at Number 9 studios, what was that like?
A: As a band, we really have only been playing together four or five months now, and during recording sessions, it would have helped to have a stronger connection. We would do these guerrilla recordings by our selves leading up to and throughout the summer, which were a lot of fun. Alex Roberts lived in London Ontario so he would rush up for a weekend and we would record and go hard for 40 or 50 hours doing everything we can. So in a couple sleepless visits, we had a demo. The thing with that demo is, I broke the external hard drive it was on. So we recorded another live demo in London, Ontario where we managed to get one usable track called “Day by Day”. We are going to re-record it for a new demo but the rough track can be heard on our Myspace page. Recording at Number 9 Studios was a rushed decision, after realizing we just need a demo out. It was the first place we really looked into, and we definitely were taken advantage off. We recorded the demo live off the floor and just overdubbed the vocals, which turned out alright. Looking back, the demo sounds nothing like it should, but it was a good experience, nonetheless.

Q: What are your thoughts on the musical community in Toronto, as a whole?
A: Divided. Pretentious. Hilarious…

Q: You have an upcoming show with Young Rival. Their style really seems to compliment yours. Have you thought of doing a collaboration?
A: Playing with Young Rival will be a step in the right direction, but when hearing us live one might develop a different opinion of us. Collaborations would be fun, but we have a lot of new material of our own which we need to record before doing any of those. Although, if Pete Doherty wants to write a song, I would not complain.

Q: There are two other bands called The Invasion, one from Idaho and another from California. Would you consider changing your band name?
A: Nahhhhhh


Q: You list a lot of punk and Brit rock bands as your influences. What do you think you have in common with such groups? Why did you choose this sound?
A: When looking at our favorite bands, they are almost all British. I just think England is producing the best talent out there. Although New York has some pretty great acts coming out. Alex Roberts actually comes from Bristol in England, having recently moved over to Canada. He should definitely contribute some British flavor.
We never really looked to create a certain sound, as individuals we all have our own way of playing but when together, it’s a festival of sounds.

Q: What’s next?
A: I’ll take a bit of everything; we would like to open for some bigger bands, record another couple demos, a bit of a tour. It all comes with time, but ideally it would really help to have a manager. - toronto indie

"The rest of the evening was all about the rock, and to kick that off was a local garage band called Invasions. I don't like to throw the genre term 'garage' around unless its receiver is firmly ensconced in authenticity. That having been said, Invasions are definitely authentic. They display a rock swagger and a U.K. punk attitude that I haven't seen or heard since I first saw Tangiers a few years back. That band went on to streamline their sound significantly since then, which I guess some people like, but I prefer my garage rock rough, and that's the sound that I was hearing from Invasions on Friday night. Their raunchy vocal rasp coupled with their guitar rock assault whipped the already enthusiastic crowd into a frenzy. They've obviously already built up quite the local following as I noticed several people screaming along to the lyrics while tearing up the dance floor." - http://itsnotthebandihateitstheirfans.blogspot.com/2008/05/twm-presents-job-invasions-leonids-and.ht