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Lownote
The World Won't Turn
This Vancouver band have created an unusual sound that claims a range of influences, from punk to gypsy music, and incorporates piano and violin into the mix. Although it sounds like a recipe for disaster, the result is breathless, halting and artistic. Each song is an epic whirlwind of relentlessly heartfelt vocals set against a backdrop of mournfull sounds. The opening track, "Bullet" ruptures at an angular pace and creates a tapestry of dark, moving sequences while Don Mann lays out an entirely compelling vocal style. "The Guts and the Bowells" plays out in fervent speeds, knotting itself up in fits and starts that mark its urgency, while "Beware the World" enters on a pulsing bass line and hushed violin, setting the tone for a more subdued but still dramatic performance. The only unfortunate part here is that Mann's vocals aren't up front as they could be, and throughout the album it sounds as if the massive and maniacal sounds around him are swallowing him whole. (Police ... Freeze!, www.lownote.ca)
Liz Worth - Exclaim! Magazine
The Skinny Magazine
http://www.theskinnymagazine.info
"...Not to be outdone at their own CD release party, Lownote confidently took the stage in Vialka's wake and continued the renewed (ie. ultra-competent) spirit of the evening with a punchy and powerfull set of imaginative hard rock that sets them miles apart from most local acts.
Don Mann attacked his electric piano and howled away his inner angst - the punk rock Ben Folds (or Billy Joel re-channelling the Attila album). The rythm section chopped and bashed away behind Mann and held their own against a guy who rocks harder sitting down than most Vancouver frontpeople do standing up. Mann's very real outsurgings of clenched fist emotion drew the crowd into an attentive, huddled mass crammed up against the stage, where they stayed for the whole set.
Any band featuring the unparalleded virtuosity of the breathtaking Kytami is usually a force to be reckoned with, and Lownote certainly were that - Kytami's melding of eastern gypsy melodies and the punk-rock ballsiness adds an exotic flavour to Lownote's thoughtfull music.
This is one of the more compelling bands currently operating in the local scene, and one worth watching. The happy, sweaty faces at Pub 340 were all the proof in that particular pudding."
Ferdy Belland - The Skinny Magazine
Discography
LP "No Place For Romance" 2008
LP "The World Won't Turn" 2006
"The World Won't Turn" charted on many college radio stations including San Diego University. The song "Man Overboard" was licensed for the CTV television series "Whistler".
"No Place For Romance" continues to chart on Canadian college radio stations.
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Bio
We have attempted to do something different with this group. Something really different! When I started writing songs on the piano I wanted to capture the energy and kickassish-ness of the punk and metal I was listening to at the time. I had played guitar in many punk and rock bands and was feeling uninspired by my instrument. So I ended up with a keyboard and remembered some of my early childhood piano lessons. I started Lownote with Mike Caveman on drums and together we rounded up a team of friends and played a whole whack of shows. We never really fit in the scene with our sound, but that didn't stop us. We have played with all kinds of different bands, from death metal to pop and every time we have had a strong reaction. We confuse a lot of people, due to our wierdness, and we like that. Eventually as what sometimes happens with bands, people get caught up in their daily lives. People have families, people get bored, move on. I'm still here, and I have a whole new group of musicians to help me create our brand of music, and it's better than ever! We hope to make an impact on peoples lives in any way we can, we want to entertain and to reflect, in an honest and transparent way.
Thanks for reading.
Don Mann
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