Pigeon Park

Like the venom of a black widow spider, the inspiration and title of their latest album, Pigeon Park’s music releases slowly, working its way through your body until it stops your heart. Black Widow is set for independent release on August 6th, following two prior efforts: a self-titled EP released in 2012 and 2011’s The Sun. From its infectious riffs to its powerful lyrics, no one is safe from the grasp of Black Widow.

The boys of Pigeon Park grew up together in Vancouver and were brought together by their mutual love of acts like Led Zeppelin and Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was only a natural for them to officially form their own group in 2008. Vocalist Nick Weber explains in a press release, “We were all friends jamming since childhood…We all went to school together, discovered bands together and jammed together. Eventually, we just bridged that gap.”

Pigeon Park’s video for “Come Down Slow” is a pretty good start for getting people interested in their upcoming EP Black Widow. It’s basically an instructional video for becoming a figure of vigilante justice. Why let the rich and powerful like Bruce Wayne have all the fun? It’s really as simple as spotting a suspected murderer while having coffee with a pal, and then following that suspect individual into their house, which is all but certainly a lair of murder. Be sure to split up of course; don’t go in together. It may not be sound, safety conscious logic, but in the tough world of do-it-yourself crime fighting, you don’t want to have the share the glory. There’s simply not enough to go around, and you’re a renegade! - Velvet Rope Magazine

Pigeon Park are the epitome of hard working musicians. They sleep, eat and drink music. Constantly writing, playing shows and touring, they just keep pushing their brand of blues rock. All 5 members have old souls it seems because blues flows through them like blood. They have also released more abums/EPs than most bands in Vancouver! The reason? They keep creating more and more music! Pushing musical boundaries is what they do on a daily basis. They also cover great tunes from Elton John to Daft Punk. Their own songs range in both emotions and dynamics. Your feet will always be moving while listening to each one! Their newest album, "Black Widow," is great showcase of their talent. This album really captures their live sound and bottles it into a 4 track EP that will have you bobbing your head and grooving in no time!

The album starts out with "Come Down Slow"; a tale of a woman who's lost her way. She uses drugs every night to escape her reality, hoping that each night isn't her last. The guitar line as the beginning of this tune really sets the mood for the whole song. I envision some scene from "Fear And Loathing In Los Vegas;" a drug fuelled dream in the heat of a desert. The dirt effect on the vocals really gives the song character. The monstrous drums really push the song to the next level with their bombastic beats. They really help build the song's intensity towards the bridge guitar solo where everything seems to spin out of control. Leading up to the final chorus, finishing the song with a roaring scream, sinks your mind into the madness yet to come.

The title track, "Black Widow," follows next. Immediately, you are transported to a different world. Here there are crowded streets. The piano intro drives a sense of rhythm and order into your brain. I see business men walking down crowded streets on their way to work. Then in the distance, you see a woman in red parting hordes of men like moses and the red sea. This women is on a mission. The mission being to collect every cent from you and suck you dry. A thick 'Aerosmith' groove builds into a heavy swing blues riff chorus. It's all held together by this catchy whistling hook. Such a dark and twisted song fits the dark and twisted lyrics. This is definitely the radio single from this album. Then, out the darkness comes this bridge with such sorrow that your heart cries. This song truly rocks my speakers practically on a daily basis.

The third track is a working mans track. "Money Beats Soul" basically sums Vancouver up in a nice little box. Working every day, all day, at a job that does nothing to fuel your soul and the struggle between your brain and your heart. Don't you wish you could just quit your job and live your dreams? This crunchy tune drives the pain right into your heart and makes you want to revolt and quit your job! Right off the bat, there is a catchy guitar riff that gives way into a bass driven verse, which builds right back up to the groove driven chorus. A very jazzy blues bridge with some fantastic falsetto vocals. A great wah-guitar solo ensues, driving it back into the outro riff with more crazy vocal lines!

The final track, entitled "Feel The Rain," is this EP's only slower track. Personally, I would have put this as track number 3 and ended off the album with the bang that is "Money Beats Soul". The track is almost a slow waltz. This is a man's sorrowful cry to his woman. This track really showcases the vocal's grit and cracks when singing his heart wrenching lines. You can also clearly hear the emotion in every guitar line. The bass and drums stay fairly minimal, giving lots of room for the vocals and guitar duelling lines. Both trade back and forth phrases of sadness. Ending with a great finishing vocal line. A slow dramatic ending to the album.

Overall, this album delivers great quality for a great price. Only $4 on bandcamp, and it goes directly to the band. Please support this hardworking band! They also won first place in the finals of the Fox Vancouver Seeds Competition. They seem to be always on tour, so go show them some love and put some gas in their gas tank! - Hammer Records

Pigeon Park is...WOW!! These guys really rocked my socks off; utterly incredible. As a
Chili Peppers and Led Zeppelin fan, I am so happy to have gotten a chance to hear
Pigeon Park's music on this self-titled project.

With such a wide array of styles of rock music represented on Pigeon Park's new album
release, there is surely something here for any and every rock fan on the planet (with the
exception of metal fans). Getting into the project, you'll be greeted with some
Zeppelin-esque guitar thrashing, thumping bass and drums, and very big vocals to match
on Lovelight. The part I really dug was the change up at the 1:54 mark. If you don't like
this track you may need to clean the tootsie rolls out of your ears and listen again. HOT
SONG!

My personal favorite is "Hopeless", because of its Red Hot Chili Peppers feel and the fact
that it is so awesome. The song is very well written, produced and arranged, but more
importantly, the vocal delivery is virtually flawless. Other songs like Only Us Fools,
Lovelight and the blues heavy, Statues of Feathers, each add their own unique flare to
Pigeon Park's new album project and I am definitely going to iTunes to buy it when it's
released.

Pigeon Park (the band and the album) will remind you why music means so much to our
lives. This is project is a 6 song collection of awesomeness and I'd recommend it to
anyone looking for great music to buy. - I Am Entertainment Magazine

Their sound mixes beats and funk with soulful rock singing, with inspiration comeing from a wide range of influences – creating their unique sound. During the past couple of years their career’s really taken off and they’ve played festivals in B.C as well as across Canada.

“A very impressive band, with a powerful lead singer. They have a big future.”

Pigeon Park’s self titled debut album is due for realse on August 31st, with their single ‘Lovelight’ having been released in April earlier this year. The self titled album contains songs ‘Lovelight’, ‘Figures’, ‘Only Us Fools’, ‘Hopeless’, ‘Statues of Feathers’, and ‘It’s Not That Likely’.
Lovelight really sets the tone for the album. Some funky catchy riffs, mixed with heavy rock inspired bass lines and drumming. The breakdown is funky and builds up beautifully and explodes in to the chorus with catchy lyrics like “lovelight illuminate the night, turn my darkness in to everlasting light”. The quality of ‘Lovelight’ really is very high and definitely up there with other bands in similar genres.
Watch Lovelight:

‘Figures’, the second track on the album, instantly shows another side to Pigeon Park. It’s interesting how they can go from heavy rock in one track to a slower, more melodic song, but yet they fuse together so beautifully. Influence of big rock names – Guns n Roses, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith – whilst not initially evident, are definitely there in the slick solos, the beautifully melodic singing and the way in which a single song tells a story.
The musical style varies from track to track ‘It’s Not That Likely’ is more of a raggae funk rock number, whilst ‘Statues of Feathers’ is a more poppy slow number. If there was ever an album to buy for a wide range of different musical styles blending together beautifully, this would be it.
Can’t recommend these guys enough: a very impressive band, with a powerful lead singer. They have a big future. Follow them on Facebook here.

Read more at http://www.themusicmag.com/music-reviews/pigeon-park-self-titled-review/#hijYM5vjviLGrDMc.99 - The Music Mag

The rocky intro and claustaphobic setting for the video of ‘Lovelight’ sets an imposing and intense introduction to what will be an intoxicating mix both visually and aurally from Vancouver five piece Pigeon Park.

Opening with a blast of gritty guitars and then fusing into an eclectic and engaging mix of funk, blues, and rock this track from their latest EP certainly has something to offer everyone. They combine so many genres, and do it so well, it would be hard to work out what their major influence is, and would be near impossible to – if you pardon the pun – pigeon-hole them.

Lead singer Nick’s powerful and evocative vocals belt through the song and the accompanying powerhouse of chords create a toe-tapping groove that it’s impossible not to get gripped by.

As the video goes from claustrophobic room setting through to the band breaking through to the fresh air of the surrounding countryside, so the music mirrors this as the guitar gets more wild and chaotic, creating a sense of freedom in a marked contrast to the tight tune that preceded it.

Having just returned from a tour over the water to promote their second album (also entitled ‘Pigeon Park‘ ) , we can only hope that a trip to the UK is on the cards very soon. - Lyric Lounge Review

2013 was a big year for Pigeon Park, culminating with the release their Black Widow EP and highlighted by winning the CFOX Seeds contest. Prior to their performance Friday night at Mirage nightclub in Surrey, Joe Leary spent 24 Seconds with vocalist Nick Weber and guitarist Kevin Okabe.

24: You won the CFOX Seeds contest, which has launched some pretty good careers. How’s that been for the band?

KO: Obviously we were really excited about winning, it’s an amazing feeling. At the same time, I don't think there was ever a mentality of ‘Now we can just sit back and ride this wave.’ We always have been an extremely hard working band and the Seeds win has been a great platform for furthering the momentum we have built over the past year. It’s definitely helped us make a lot of great connections with the industry, but now it’s up to us to make the most out of the opportunity.

24: Tell me about the EP Black Widow. What was the songwriting process like and how has your sound developed since you first started?

NW: The making of Black Widow was a blur. In the beginning we would take four different genres of music and throw it all onto one album. A lot of people enjoyed that about us, and I think we did too, but we realized that in order to further ourselves, we needed one cohesive sound that someone could listen to and say, ‘That’s Pigeon Park.’ I think we did that with Black Widow. It was grittier, polished and has set us up for bigger and better things.

24: Generally, how does the songwriting process work within the band? Is it a collaborative effort?

NW: For the most part it’s collaborative. Someone will usually bring in a song that’s 70-80 percent finished and then we'll hammer out the finer details together. Sometimes, when the wind is right, someone will start playing something and everyone inherently knows what to do. It’s a rare, but beautiful thing.

KO: Everyone in the band brings some songwriting to the table; democracy reigns in the band and it's not just one person's vision it’s five different people.

24: You've been touring around in support of Black Widow. How is life on the road?

KO: It’s been amazing. Being on the road is an incredible experience. You ride the highs and lows together and overall the shows we played on the road in the last few months have been great. We've been really well received in other markets and that in itself is pretty humbling. These past two tours have been our first experiences at performing at commercial radio and television outlets and that's been pretty great too. It does mean a lot more work. Sometimes we'll wake up at 6 am in a Wal-Mart parking lot (because sometimes we're too broke to get a hotel room), do a TV performance, travel for two hours out to do radio performances, eat dinner, play the show, sleep and repeat.

24: What does 2014 hold for Pigeon Park?

NW: We are hitting the radio airwaves in January with Come Down Slow, our second single off Black Widow. Mid January, we get in the studio with producer Garth Richardson. We open for Electric Six on March 12 at the Venue and in the spring/summer we will release the record and follow that up with a tour. Last but certainly not least, we will tour with Sam Roberts sometime in the fall. It's going to be a big year. - 24 HRS

Pigeon Park, a Vancouver-based rock and roll quintet, introduces their newest music to the world with the independently released Black Widow EP. Like the spider it’s inspired by, the four-song EP is deceptively small and powerfully lethal. Each song is stronger than the last with loud vocals and soulful guitar riffs.

The EP begins with “Come Down Slow,” a song filled with warning and guitar breaks. It’s the first single from the album and it does a great job of showing off the band’s attitude. “Black Widow” lightens up the sound with some whistling and catchy tunes, but the lyrics aren’t light at all. With lines like “she’s gonna make you believe / she’ll make a killing and leave,” the song is a classic rock and roll response to a broken heart.

Like the title suggests, “Money Beats Soul” adds some soul music to the equation. The song is reminiscent of The Black Keys, a mellow and groovy kind of sound with classic rock and roll vocals. “Feel the Rain,” the final song on the EP, explores the inner emotions after an intense relationship has come to an end. Both the lyrics and the music mirror the dark effects of the lack of a human connection once loved and now lost.

Black Widow is thirteen minutes of pure rock and roll. While four songs is obviously a short EP, the thematic emphasis in Black Widow is something that is missing from many full-length releases. Pigeon Park knows how to craft individual songs into an album.

4 out of 5 stars - Confront Magazine

Vancouver rock band, Pigeon Park is releasing their EP entitled Black Widow tomorrow, August 6, 2013. Black Widow is produced by Jordan Oorebeek. The EP features 4 songs, and each of them show off the strong vocals of Nick Weber (Lead Vocals). The band plays perfectly together, probably because they are long time friends, which gives them that extra connection. Logan Paholok (Vocals & Guitar), Kevin Okabe (Guitar), Artur Lepert (Bass) and Hunter Elliot (Drums) and Nick Weber all went to school together, dsicovered bands and jammed together, it was only a matter of time until they eventually formed an amazing band.

Though the first single/ video from the EP, “Come Down Slow” portrays a homeless girls life, and is full of emotion and energy, I would have to say that my favourite from the EP is the title track, “Black Widow”. The song starts off with a whistling beat, and from then on, I was hooked. This song showcases the musicianship of the band, everything goes together in just the way it should. The vocals are once again strong and full of power.

This band would put on an amazing live show and I hope to someday have the oppurtunity to see them! And you should too! Until then, be sure to keep an out eye for them, I’m sure you’ll see them everywhere soon enough!

Rating: 4.5/5 - Canadian Beats

When Vancouver-based Pigeon Park released their eponymous EP last year, diversity underpinned the emerging artist pick. The five-piece band prided itself on never really having a consistent set list, making flexibility an important part of their music and where they were headed.

You might never guess that from their new release. The 4-track EP, Black Widow, finds the band settled into a signature blues groove rock. It's a great sound for the Pigeon Park, centering squarely on their strengths. But that's not to say the band has given up on its sometimes soulful and funky sound.

Where they've matured is in developing their overarching style while still managing to weave their diversity into the arrangements. Think of it as the perfect middle ground for the five-year-old band. It helps define their music but gives them enough freedom to make their material feel spontaneous as individual styles emerge within their compositions.

This is the kind of recording that one hopes for from an emerging talent like Pigeon Park. They don't play a collection of solid songs anymore. They have a sound that is clearly becoming Pigeon Park.

Black Widow is a bluesy, sometimes soulful excursion.

The title track, Black Widow, is straight-up hum-along-if-you-want-to rock song about a dangerous seductress who bends men to her will before sucking them dry. And yet, the song itself isn't nearly as dark as the summation implies.

Pigeon Park prevents the track from becoming overtly as dark as the lyrics by infusing temptation into some well-placed guitar licks. Frontman Nick Weber (vocals) might conclude that "it's the last time" at the end of the song, but Kevin Okabe (guitar) and Logan Pacholok (guitar) clearly imply a longing for the next time. It's a warning. It's a dare. And it's held together with a perfect beat and bass line from Hunter Elliott (drums) and Artur Lepert (bass).

It's also not the only place where the band juxtaposes an adrenaline high with a dangerous even disastrous risk. Although the video casts Come Down Slow in a different light, with two teens chasing down a dangerous high, the original concept is drawn from the plight of a homeless girl.



To hear the band members tell it, the lyrics capture the alienation and desperation of life. Although the song doesn't necessarily cut new ground as a straightforward storytelling rocker, it's an extremely tight track and easily the most radio friendly of the lot. Where it wins is in how the band delivers it.

It's very clear that the band has a newfound confidence built on their long-standing camaraderie. It's one thing to lose yourself as a free-spirited rock band but another all together to trust your gut and the guts of your bandmates. It was always just a matter of time.

"We were all friends jamming since childhood," says Weber. "We all went to school together, discovered bands together and jammed together. Eventually, we just bridged that gap."

Forging out a new, streamlined sound isn't the only gap the band is trying to bridge. Money Beats Soul aims at connecting to the groundswell of young adults trapped between picking money or soul. Both soulful and aggressive, Weber peels back the warning as matter of fact. Money wins every time.

Money also wins with its guitar solo, even if there are some splendid solo notes inside the EP's closer, Feel The Rain. The last track starts out as a throwback rock crooner with some funk and psychedelia but ends as a robust, atmospheric howler after its layered build finally reaches a crescendo. Sure, there is a touch of theatrics in the final track but it's all for the right reasons.

Black Widow By Pigeon Park Stings 7.8 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

Every time this band puts something out, they turn everything inside out to make the most passionate blues groove rock possible. With Black Widow, Pigeon Park had never sounded better or more promising. The EP has fewer frills but more thrills as an accessible EP saddled with the right amount of blues, soul and funk finesse. This is the collection that locks them in as a band to watch.

You can find the Black Widow EP by Pigeon Park on Amazon or download it from iTunes. The band is hosting an EP release party at the Venue in Vancouver, British Columbia, tonight (Aug. 8) with support from other local bands like Whoa! She's A Babe, The Slovos, and No Century. For future tour dates, visit Pigeon Park on Facebook or give the EP a spin on Bandcamp. - Liquid Hip