sadoceanspacebear

eye - 07.15.04
5. SADOCEANSPACEBEAR, "Baby Jack": Though the spectre of Courtney hovers over (and occasionally alights upon) this fortifying blast of alt-rock, Courtney herself hasn't sounded this vital since the distant recesses of the previous millennium. Part of a wildly uneven yet eminently worthy compilation from Alien Girl Records, the estimable Toronto collective founded by sadoceanspacebear's Michelle Breslin, also of Trans Love Airways and It's Patrick. (From Rock in a Family Way, sadoceanspacebear.com/sounds/mp3.html) - Toronto Star - Eye Weekly

eye - 05.12.05

SADOCEANSPACEBEAR
***

Alien Girl

Toronto's sadoceanspacebear specialize in a distinct, dreamy sound that lies somewhere between sombre alt-country and feedback-heavy space-rock. At the front of sadocean's sound-stage stands Alien Girl Records founder and chief songwriter Michelle Breslin, who used to hold down positions in local groups TransLove Airways and Fifth Column before going solo as Sick Little Slinky and forming It's Patrick. Sadoceanspacebear is now Breslin's main concern, and the quintet's debut shuffles their sounds from Neil Youngin' slow-burners like "Here Comes the Sun" and "Wandering Man" to the My Bloody Valentine squall of "Situation" and downright dumps-dragging Dinosaur Jr. brooders like "Addiction" and "Poison." To their credit, sadoceanspacebear also know when to drop their blues and kick out the jams -- the barnburner "Unwanted Advice" is a definite high point in an otherwise lonesome-sounding debut. KH

Sadoceanspacebear play The Cadillac Lounge (1296 Queen W) May 14. - Toronto Star - Eye Weekly

Sadoceanspacebear · Sadoceanspacebear
(Alien Girl Records/Outside Music - 2005)

Between the mix of subdued psychedelia and dark guitar textures, the Toronto-based Sadoceanspacebear come out with a fairly engrossing album.

For the heads out there who look at the cover of this album, envisioning portents from beyond the realm of reality, take fair warning: Do not expect an unharnessed freak out from the depths of eternity, as this record will blow your mind in subtler ways.

Though the self-titled Sadoceanspacebear album has its moments of pulsating warbles, echoing trail-outs and peaking instrumental assaults, for the most part, it's a quiet, evocative work. Sadoceanspacebear manages to elicit dark, unsettling emotions without having to rely on the stereotypically freaky images and sounds common to psych-rock or shoegazing genres.

The lyrics are deeply personal, almost diary-like stories that speak to isolation and fear, while the music behind it patiently waits for the right moments to hit you with waves of visceral power.

Rating: 7

- Steve Birek - Umbrella Music

Reviewed by Brighid Mooney



There seems to be something of a trend lately for bands that aren't really bands in the traditional sense, but more of an artistic ensemble, a collection of rotating musicians based around the songs of one contributor who makes up the core of the group. This is what Sadoceanspacebear is, a group of musicians, many of them from other already popular Canadian bands, who have come together under the direction of singer and guitarist Michelle Breslin to create their self-titled debut album, a subtle, relaxing collection of songs that eschew genre definition. With help from members of bands like Squirrel, the Constantines, the Raving Mojos, Moe Kellogg and the Sleepy Mosquito Buzz Quartet, Breslin and company have come out with a solid album of sometimes catchy, always mellow tunes that are almost immediately engaging.

One look at the album's cover and you may be expecting a psychedelic frenzy of stoner rock and Pink Floyd-esque textures. But while the group was obviously influenced by such music, it doesn't quite define their sound. Instead, the songs are more subtle, layered affairs that calmly and evocatively express a spectrum of emotions and sounds. The album vibrates from soft and gentle songs relaying personal, sensitive lyrics, to pulsating instrumental eruptions, the twelve songs on the album never seeming out of place or ill-fitting. "Situation" is an upbeat, rollicking rock song, soon followed by the quieter, softer "Wandering Man" which rolls out slowly and serenely as it tells its story. Other songs on the album are equally as engaging, just as subtle and harmonic and endlessly beautiful and disarming.

The Toronto-based band has a core membership with other musicians making appearances and cameos as their schedules allow, but at its heart Sadoceanspacebear is a very discernible group, making experimental, all-encompassing music that is both heartfelt and mysterious. Their debut album is an excellent sign of what great things we can expect to come from this able and interesting collection of musicians. - Being There

July 14, 2005

SADOCEANSPACEBEAR is a supergroup of sorts for those who loved mid-‘90s Toronto indie rock.
The local quintet features former members of It’s Patrick, Trans Love Airways, Fifth Column and even Sick Little Slinky—and, if you include the producers, the long-lost and much lamented Squirrel, via Rudy Rempel.

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Atmospheric
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The band is led by singer-guitarist Michelle Breslin, backed by fellow singer-guitarists Roan Bateman and Melissa Boraski as well as bassist Warren Phillips and drummer Steve Keeping.
Sadoceanspacebear music recalls the good parts of classic alternative rock —
sometimes resembling Hole before Courtney Love lost her marbles, while other times drony space-rock bands like My Bloody Valentine.
Breslin’s murmuring, ominous vocals are surrounded by a tuneful, thrillingly atmospheric three-guitar attack.
The band’s debut self-titled CD came out just last month, but they’re doing two shows at Sneaky Dee’s this week to show it off. The first is tomorrow, with Secret Handshake and DJ Hans; the second is this week’s Wavelength, which also features the unveiling of Doc Pickles’ new album.
- Mary Dickie - Sun Media (Toronto) Corp

August-September 2005
SADOCEANSPACEBEAR

One of those rarefied Toronto-based bands who aren’t either mining the ‘80s, getting eyeliner all over their biker jackets or holding punk for ransom in some dilapidated disco, Sadoceanspacebear alternate between moody, psyched-out scene setters and searing melodic guitar rock anthems. Remarkably, the band pull off what ought to be an awkward union between classic Giant Sand-ish cactus art-rock, and ass-kicking material that could have been lifted from the brilliant Breeders follow-up album that never materialized. According to the contributors list, Sadoceanspacebear have played host to enough quasi members to qualify as a social scene of near broken proportions, but chief among the key elements here is vocally-gifted, guitar-toting front-person Michelle Breslin, whose easy, natural rock stature makes Melissa Auf der Maur look downright square by comparison. (Alien Girl, www.sadoceanspacebear.com) Chuck Molgat - Excalim Magazine - Ian Danzig