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Montreal's high octane quartet Play The Angel is ready to take America by storm, leading off with their self-titled debut EP on Mungo Park Records in advance of a full-length release this fall. Play The Angel formed from the remnants of Montreal band One Away, with Bobby Bisciglia (guitar, vox) and Rob Tremblay (drums) finding lead guitarist Phil Berube and bassist DominiK Gagne (NecronomicoN) on their way to becoming Play The Angel. The EP is full of power and grace, ratcheting up an already impressive buzz a few notches on the eve of their American coming out.
Play The Angel opens with Indestructible, a song with the potential to make Playing The Angel a household name. High energy rock with a big guitar sound, a killer chorus and hooks that will grab you and drag you along whether you want to come or not make for a potential monster of a song. You And Me is a sorrowful power ballad about a relationship that didn't work out; this has the potential to be request/dedication material and is glossy enough to do well on Pop radio. Ready Or Not is built on a killer guitar riff and a chorus equally as lethal. This is the sort of rock sound you can't help but dance to, and is the best overall song on the disc. If Indestructible might make Play The Angel a household name, this is the song that elevates them to superstars. Tears Are Falling is in a similar vein to the other songs on Play The Angel but doesn't have quite the same pizzazz. Don't Follow, on the other hand, shows a more lyric side to Play The Angel that is a welcome surprise. Make it three songs out of five on the EP with major potential commercial impact.
Play The Angel proves they can go from edges of Power Ballad heaven to the throws of Rock N Roll passion with all of the prerequisite stops at emotionally charged balladry in between. Their debut EP, Play The Angel stands to introduce the band to a new audience south of the US/Canadian border, and contains the sort of Pop/Hard Rock gold that makes careers. Put Play The Angel on your must list.
Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)
You can learn more about Play The Angel at http://www.playtheangel.com/ or www.myspace.com/playtheangelmusic. You can purchase Play The Angel as a download through iTunes. - Wildy's World
“Indestructible” showcases Play The Angel as an act that can shoot between rock, emo, punk, and hard rock in the course of just a few seconds. The act has a sound that is similar to what other bands have placed on the radio in the last few years, but Play The Angel look to increase the odds significantly. After listeners take in just one of the five cuts on the self-titled EP, they will begin to understand that Play The Angel is a better band, regardless of whether one looks at sheer ability, overall sound, or the authority that each member has in crafting their own distinct line here. “You And Me” is the track that will hammer home the fact that Play The Angel can make a track that pulls on listeners’ heartstrings without seeming overly sappy or pitiful; Simple Plan they are not. The vocals here are smooth as butter, soaring over the track effortlessly.
The guitars, drums, and bass do not fade into the mists here; they join together to provide listeners with a unique experience. I personally have not heard much in the way of music that can be said to truly be revolutionary; I feel that “You And Me” will represent a blueprint for future music in much the same way that Creed’s “My Own Prison” set the stage for 2000s rock. “Ready or Not” ensures that Play The Angel will not paint themselves into a corner.
There is a sort of electronic present to this track that skirts them close to an MSI sound, but at no point does this new influence detract from the wonderfully unique sound that they have cultivated through this EP. “Tears Are Falling” ties together a quick tempo with a funkiness that will attract fans of 3!OH3 or even A Skylit Drive. 5 tracks are all that is necessary for Play The Angel to showcase all of their skills; I have little doubt in my head that any upcoming full-lengths will simply have the act step up their game that much further. Check them out today!
Top Tracks: Indestructible, Ready or Not
Rating: 8.6/10
Play The Angel – S/T EP / 2009 Self / 5 Tracks / www.playtheangel.com / www.myspace.com/playtheangelmusic - NeuFutur Magazine
Ever since Nirvana became the world’s most prestigious rock band by playing distorted pop songs, the line between pop and rock has been blurred. To me, it’s pretty much an attitude at this point. Modest Mouse is a rock band, mostly because they sneer at anything and everyone who doesn’t fit into their ideas of the way things should be. Even though Three Days Grace, Hinder, and even Nickelback play “rock’n'roll” by modern standards, they are pop bands. They are pop bands because they act like preening pop stars and not like rock stars (i.e. hedonistic excess does not a rock band make).
Play the Angel is one of the best pop bands I’ve heard in years. They play “rock” by the radio’s standards, but they don’t have any of the attitude of a rock band. And that’s a good thing, because they embrace their pop star aesthetics and give the people what they want. There are five songs on this EP: straightforward rock’n'roller, major-key powerballad, dance-rock tune, whoa-oh pop-punk tune, and Gavin DeGraw-style emotive piano ballad. They have real names, of course, but they each fit excellently into their own radio niche. “So what?” you say. “Bands do that crap all the time.”
Yeah, they do, but they do one of the genres better than the other. Play the Angel does all five right. They could release every song off this EP as a radio single and, with proper label backing, they would have five number one hits. Their songwriting is just that good. Their vocalist has an incredibly appealing voice that’s a tad lower than Tyson Ritter of the All-American Rejects but just as emotive. Their production values are pitch-perfect. The band knows when to get out of the way of the vocals and when to crash in for the emotional payoff. Play the Angel does everything right.
If you like anything on rock radio right now, from Fall Out Boy to Hinder to Panic! at the Disco to Paramore to All-American Rejects and anything in between, you’re going to absolutely fall in love with Play the Angel. I don’t have a clue why this band hasn’t shot to the top of the charts yet. They’ve got every piece of the puzzle in line. They just need to see the right guy at the right gig who turns them into mega-stars. Cause, geez, they’re infinitely better than Nickelback. And that crap still sells millions. Again, if you turn on the radio and like anything you hear, Play the Angel is there for you. It’s that good.
- Independant Clauses
Play The Angel, un groupe qui, de l’avis de son leader Bobby Bisciglia, fait un rock très commercial un peu à la manière des Foo Fighters, d’Incubus et de Our Lady Peace, a remporté les grands honneurs de la finale montréalaise de l’Omnium du Rock, le plus important concours ouvert aux « bands » de la relève.
Bobby et le batteur Rob Tremblay ont tous deux fait partie de One Away, le groupe qui a ouvert le spectacle de Bon Jovi lors de son passage au Centre Bell à l’automne 2006. Désireux d’explorer de nouvelles avenues, les deux musiciens ont mis sur pied l’an dernier le groupe Play The Angel avec le bassiste DB et le guitariste Phil Bérubé. « Ça fait à peine un an que l’on travaille ensemble on s’entend comme des frères! », explique Bobby qui est fou de joie d’avoir remporté la finale de ce concours qui réunissait les 32 meilleurs groupes rock de la métropole. « Au départ, on s’est inscrit parce qu’on voulait tester notre nouveau matériel devant public sans avoir à organiser ou à produire nos propres spectacles. On voulait aussi profiter de la visibilité que ça offrait et finalement, on a gagné! », raconte Bobby qui se prépare à affronter Post Scriptum, le groupe qui a remporté la finale de la Vieille Capitale, lors d’une grande confrontation Montréal - Québec qui sera diffusée en direct sur les ondes de MusiquePlus. Pour Play The Angel, la pression sera d’autant plus grande que ce sont les représentants de Québec qui l’ont emporté lors des deux premières éditions de ce concours. Déjà assuré de pouvoir enregistrer un démo au Studio Piccolo, un endroit fort prestigieux où ont déjà travaillé des artistes de la trempe de Simple Plan et de Céline Dion, Play The Angel rêve de donner à la métropole un première titre lors de ce concours doté de plusieurs milliers de dollars en prix.
- 24 heures
Discography
Single "Ready or Not", April 2009
EP "Play The Angel" April, 2009
Photos
Bio
After cutting their first demo with producer/engineer Gautier Marinof--who worked with the legendary Bob Rock on Simple Plan's second release--at Studios Piccolo, Play the Angel has holed up with acclaimed Montreal based producer Eric Collard (2 platinum records), to assist them with their impending invasion of the U.S. Their self-titled EP, released on Mungo Park Records, is currently distributed throughout canada.
Since winning the Omnium du Rock contest in Montreal, Play The Angel has been in nonstop motion. Though the band has kept live performances to a minimum lately to focus on their writing and recording, they managed to keep their stage mojo going by rocking the infamous Van's Warped Tour, sharing the stage with Sick Puppies and even being invited by Akon himself to his Hitlab Showcase.
With 2 music videos, already on MuchLoud and Musique Plus, their songs have also been popping up in a lot of unique venues, from the Bell Centre—where the fiery “Ready Or Not” has played regularly at Montreal Canadiens hockey games—to the cult hit Sid’s Cycle Show on Canada’s MenTV and Global TV.
The band also won the hearts of an unexpected crowd while on tour with Canadian platinum artist Bobby Bazini. The acoustic rendition of their songs fuelled much interest and impressive cd sales.
“Play The Angel” is actually an old expression which means putting on a friendly, hypocritical façade; it can be applied to a lack of honesty in intimate or everyday relationships but the band’s socio-political mindset finds them also relating their songs to the political, corporate America and the general lack of integrity side of it that frequently permeates our culture.
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