Music
Press
"Almost two years ago, during RPM Challenge 2010, Justin Guzzwell and A.E. Bridger teamed up to form the musical entity called People on Pause. Their self-titled RPM debut drew much attention on the local scene with its catchy pop hooks, quirky songs and energetic delivery. Last year, both Bridger and Guzzwell packed up and headed west to Montreal, where many of St. John’s musical exports are ending up these days. I feared I may never hear them again until this past weekend I learned they had released a new EP entitled Hard Company via Bandcamp. I eagerly downloaded the EP and was both surprised and intrigued by the new direction they had taken. A statement from Bridger on the group’s website:
“Hard Company started when I moved to Montreal and realized how popular electronic music was. I grew up in a scene surrounded by rock bands, but here in Montreal everyone seemed to be using laptops and samplers in live performances,” writes Bridger. “I thought it would be a good way to branch out musically, and so did Guzz. I borrowed my friend’s Dr. Groove drum machine and quickly recorded a pile of beats, picked my favourite ones, then recorded bass lines over them. When Guzz came to Montreal to find somewhere to live, I passed him these rhythm tracks. He took them back to St.John’s and by the time he came back to Montreal three months later, a lot of the groundwork was laid and we started decorating everything, trying to make sense of this new form we both knew nothing about”.
And so Hard Company was born, five tracks of experimental electronic music with obscured vocals, no hooks, and a blatant disregard for the traditional verse-chorus-verse format of popular music.
My first instinct when hearing new music for the first time is to listen for a reference point and so I tried to contextualize Hard Company but to no avail. As convenient as it would be to compare the EP with the work of Caribou, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Pere Ubu, Errand Boy, Russian Futurists, and Battles, none of the comparisons really fit. Hard Company stands alone in its uniqueness, and that is perhaps the greatest compliment I can give it. Check it out for yourself." - Damian Lethbridge, Paper Covers Rock (Newfoundland Music Blog) - The Scope
"One of my favorite participants from last year's RPM, Justin Guzzwell, teamed up with like-minded local prog-rock-weirdo-Superguy AE Bridger to form People On Pause. The duo have an interesting symbiotic relationship. Songwriting duties are divided equally between the two of them and while both have pretty different styles, Guzzwell, with his pummeling piano punk and Bridger with his complex guitar acrobatics, the songs flow without conflict or disparity. I'm a total jerk to complain about this considering it's an RPM, but I sorta wish the mix weren't so murky 'cause it distracts from some really great performances on the last tracks. Guzzwell and Bridger are two of the most talented folks from the St. John's weirdo scene and POP definitely doesn't lack in ideas and energy. It's a rewarding album well worth some dissecting ears." -Patrick Canning, The Scope, Issue 102, pg 11. - The Scope
Discography
(self titled) - 2010
Hard Company - 2011
Look Lady - 2012
Registrar's Lobby - 2012
....Go To Junktown - 2013
http://peopleonpause.bandcamp.com/ contains all albums to stream and download.
Photos
Bio
In February 2010, Alexander Bridger and Justin Guzzwell set out to record an entire album of new original music in one month. The two Newfoundland natives barely knew each other, but both were already recognized in their own right in the St. John's scene. Guzzwell, a classically trained pianist and recipient of the Government of Newfoundland Arts and Letters award for composition, was called "a total powerhouse performer who needs to be experienced" by alternative newspaper The Scope and was eager to branch outside of his creative comfort zone. When a collaboration was suggested by Bridger, whose band had been previously shortlisted for the Atlantic Music Prize alongside other St. John's favorites Hey Rosetta! and Duane Andrews, the time seemed right for these two lone wolves to shed their solo inclinations and put their heads together... on pause.
The duo recorded an album by their one-month deadline and their first self-titled album showed promise, with Guzzwell's sassy piano rock tastefully balancing Bridger's proggy guitar hallucinations. The pair, acknowledged as "two of the most talented folks in the St. John's weirdo scene," quickly bonded over an enthusiasm for sassy rock n' roll 'tude and Syd Barrett-style outsider naivete. Their self-titled debut was acknowledged by The Scope as "a really rewarding album well worth some dissecting ears."
The duo continued to perform in the eclectic St. John's scene for a few months before emigrating to Montreal, where the two would continue to hone their weirdo DIY mash-up of 70's post-punk, British acid rock and flowery classic pop. POP pumped out two more self-produced albums in late 2011 and early 2012; the noisy electronics of "Hard Company" followed by the group's second RPM Challenge album, the lecherously groovy "Look Lady." Showing no signs of slowing in creative output, Guzzwell and Bridger assembled a band of fellow Newfoundland ex-pats to present People on Pause to the Montreal public, playing with locals and out-of-towners alike. Summer 2012 begins with POP starting in on a fourth self-produced album to be released before Fall.
Band Members
Links
