One Life Animal

If you missed out on the privilege of having your face melted by Metallica this weekend, you may have sadly just accepted your un-molten fate and gone home. But if you cared to look below the shadow of Rogers Arena, you’d have discovered that Vancouver had plenty of awesome music to offer anyone who wanted to find it. You just had to know where to look.

If you wanted something heavy, loud, and overflowing with punk energy last Saturday, the Media Club had you covered. Taking the stage that night was Numbskull, the AK-747s, and One Life Animal, groups that reveled in being chosen over the bigger metal show by the crowd. As the two opening bands played, the crowd steadily poured in from the front doors, and immediately began filling the floor.

As the last band was about to come up, I was surprised to see the venue almost full, and people still pouring in.

One Life Animal appeared on the stage as three men and a jungle cat. I don’t mean that as some sort of poetic metaphor – in the darkness of the venue, it really looked like Kimba the white lion had taken the microphone, until he peeled back the skin from his face and revealed a gorgeous woman.

I swear, no illicit substances were involved in this process.

The lead singer of One Life Animal wouldn’t have to wear a costume to convince me she’s part lion. Feral is the best word to describe her. Harsh, primal vocals boiled through each song. The thick coils billowing from her head and the shimmering auburn of the glitter she wore on her face made her seem like something from the cover of a pulp science fiction magazine. Her persona was only one half of the experience however – her dark primacy a counterpoint to the other leading force on the stage.

The guitarist of One Life Animal is the smiling, funny, and musical opposite to the girl singing beside him. A vehicle for both great musical execution and silly banter, their relationship was the heart of the performance. Even when they weren’t speaking, the way their own individual sounds mixed together and reacted was almost certainly chemical.

The band was having a ton of fun, which was hard not to let rub off on yourself. They had reason to be – the crowd was amazing, the music was awesome, and as our guitarist pointed out, his parents were happily seated at the back together, and the band had a drink for them.

One Life Animal brought back that thick West Coast sound to the Media Club, that sound that some of the greatest bands from decades before have grown out of. It was fun to just bang around in a venue with a small but enthusiastic crowd, and a band who was having a great time.

You can listen to One Life Animal on their website, but if you like what you hear, you really need to see them live. The next time the arenas are filled and you’re thinking of just going home, take a look around. You might just find One Life Animal lighting up a room somewhere. - Vancouver Weekly

Sleep and His Older Brother Death (Independent)

No one will accuse One Life Animal of lacking ambition on its debut outing, the mystical Sleep and His Older Brother Death. Those who do all their music shopping on Bandcamp will discover the promise of a concept album that includes 11 tracks, two bonus B-sides, liner notes, lyrics, and a “poster with the mythology of Sleep and Death”.

Consider that fair warning that One Life Animal has aimed a little higher than finding the missing link between Green Day and the Ramones. Instead, the sound here is proggy in the best of ways, giving you a good idea what Tool might have sounded like if it had come up in grunge-era Seattle with a singer (Tocha Restrepo) who has just the right mix of technical skill and tuff-leather snarl.

While the band obviously has plenty of technical ability (check out guitarist Tom McIlveen’s tasteful atmospherics in the middle of “First Last Gasp”), the songs come first here, whether the group is diving into the mosh pit for the neck-snapping “Pandora” or unleashing its inner goth on “Sweet Sting”.

As for what happens at the end of Sleep and His Older Brother Death, One Life Animal establishes itself as a band that Scrape Records frequent fliers will want to keep an eye on. As for that whole shuffling-off-this-mortal-coil thing: do you really want to know what happens seconds after you draw your last breath? If so… - The Georgia Straight

One Life Animal’s debut album, Sleep and His Older Brother Death, lets out a ferocious roar that is sure to wake you from your slumber.

Although the Vancouver band formed in early 2007, the quartet is just now starting to get their wheels in full motion. After losing their original lead singer to the ranks of the Vancouver Police Department, they experienced a long hiatus from their formation until now.

“We went through a few singers and we settled on this one guy named Ben, he was a really nice guy but he ended up becoming a cop,” guitarist Tom McIlveen said as he offered a mix drink in the hallway of the band’s hot recording studio.

“Right when we finished the record and sent it to press he quit,” bass player Shawn Penner added. After scouring Craigslist for a new lead singer, the band eventually found their vocalist in Tocha Restrepo. In 2003 Restrepo traded in the sun-soaked shores of San Diego for the rain in Vancouver, “I followed the wrong man to the right city,” she says.

While difficult to describe because of the array of multiple genres, influences and styles, One Life Animal pull off a prog-pop rock and metal hybrid of songs that resonate in a completely new tone. Being one of the last bands to record in the legendary Mushroom Studios before its closure, this group of misfits have created a unique and exciting sound for their listeners.

“We wanted to write something that we would listen to and buy,” said drummer Duncan Ius. The ten songs on Sleep and His Older Brother Death will hit you hard and keep you engaged from start to finish as the full concept album detailing the duality of life and death reveals itself track after track.

One Life Animal have paid their dues in Vancouver and their aggressive work brings an element of a new progressive sound to the urban jungle we call Vancouver.

Sleep and His Older Brother Death will be released on July 19, a double album release party with the AK-747s at the Media Club. You can also join the band for their video release on July 9 at The Moose. - Beatroute Magazine

To wrap up the night One Life Animal set up and played to a great sized crowd. This is the first show with their new singer and she turned out to be the "Animal" in One Life Animal. Absolutely ferocious into the microphone. Brought a new flavour of raw energy to the band. The whole group was tight. Playing a few old songs from their first record as well as a bunch of new tunes. This ending the night on a glorious high note.
- Hammer Records