The Bawdy Electric

An April two-song EP from this cheeky foursome hailing from — we’re not sure; New Brunswick for sure, Montreal, a bit of Toronto — shows off their catchy power pop quite well, if not their internecine NHL rivalries, which must cause them lots of headaches given that they list “Brian Burke” as their manager. - The Toronto Star

If you like your rock loud, nonabrasive and without cynicism, I suggest checking out The Bawdy Electric. It's not my job to gauge sincerity in artists, but it's not hard to see the earnestness in lyrics about looking "for a family/some land/ and a home." Warms the heart. Of course, it's pure escapism for a urban deviant like me whose priorities don't extend beyond writing copy for cultural websites and my next fix of booze, babes or barbiturates (and who wears a patch spelling out Irony on the sleeve of his jean jacket). But every dirt bike (me) needs someone with a truck and a trailer (earnest people) for when they pop a tire. - BlogTO

We at BU are big fans of The Bawdy Electric, so we were psyched to find out they had released two brand-new singles.

Catchy and powerful, I’ll Be Your Mountain/Any Closer to the Day is a wicked release, infused with all the fun and energy characteristic of this fantastic Montreal-based band. The lyrics are beautiful and epic, and The Bawdy Electric’s upbeat, exciting sound is the perfect vehicle for them. I dare you to close your eyes and not fall a little bit in love with Chris Durning’s versatile voice as it ranges from high and clear, to plaintive, to intense and guttural. Unpretentious and hilarious, it doesn’t hurt that these gentlemen easily charm the pants off their audiences.

Best of all, you can download the new tracks for FREE, right here. Just brace yourself for the crushing disappointment you’ll feel when all too quickly, you get to the end of the songs. - Bloody Underrated

I had no intention of posting today. Work is consuming more and more hours, as is a toddler with an ever growing obsession with parks, construction and reaching new heights on playground slides.

I was happy to simply revisit some old favorites and take a break from the daily grind, but that blogiday was over when the six-minutes of power pop from The Bawdy Electric started circling around my head like a halo this morning.

Without being totally reductive, this Toronto/Montreal via New Brunswick (with a stopover at Dalhousie) band sounds enough like John Darnielle fronting a New Pornographers inspired bar band to grab any music fan’s ear. “Any Closer To The Day” is built on rolling guitar and Christopher Durning’s inspired vocals, but the song slowly and confidently explodes into an A.C. Newman / Dan Bejar worthy climax full of vocals, plucky bass and horns. The band calls it “power pub”, and honestly, that descriptor is apt and better than anything I can come up with on my own.

But The Bawdy Electric is more than beer soaked anthems; lyrically, there are many gems to be mined from these two songs. It’s hard to ignore the potential of this band when the verses and choruses of “I’ll Be Your Mountain” document how quickly we are willing to give up on who we are for someone else’s happiness so well.

No strife, I want nothing of your life | But I’ll be blue collar true all the same | I’ve got everything we need | A mortgage and my gorgeous family name

There’s something poetic about his willingness to become something he hates for a woman undeserving of his love. He will sacrifice and suffer through each canon blast, if she would just ask. He will be what she needs until the rock finally crumbles to the sea and all that’s left is the vindictive end state for him to hold onto. The misguided hope that she would have missed him if he only he found the strength to walk out the door.

Oh… and wrestling ass on a turnbuckle? Well played, sir. Well played. - Herohill

This track instantly reminds me of power pop acts like Rick Springfield and Teenage Fanclub, with its impassioned vocals mixed with a pulsing snare hits that can't help but get my head bobbing along in cadence. This is the kind of stuff that I could see getting more than one rotation on mainstream radio, and hopefully these guys will get a taste of a larger audience sometime in their future.

It's big, it's fun, and you can pump your fists in the air like its 1986 while playing it. - Spacerockmountain

"Lead Singer, Christopher Durning....is both a poet and a comedian" - Midnight Poutine

"Musical guest Chris Durning, from The Bawdy Electric, did what every musician as always dreamed possible. He made AM Radio turn into FM Radio." - Edge Of The City

"The Bawdy Electric are a Montreal band without that trademark Montreal sound, in fact I'd be more likely to buy them being from Halifax. That's refreshing!" - Blogto.com

"They’re loud, they’re fun, and they’re highly talented. Pub-rock at its absolute best! What more could you ask for?" - Bloody Underrated

"At a Bachelors show, the comedy arises from the clash of the Bachelors’ serious art collective intentions and sensibilities with their self-deprecating and campy shtick. Tomorrow night, they’ll reach for the pinnacles of the Attic Greeks while falling into the shit and getting their underwear and bed sheets dirty." - The McGill Daily

"Swoon-worthy Chris Durning played beautiful music and told stories about singing at funerals that made me thankful I never worked at a funeral parlour." - She Does The City Montreal

"This Sunday, April 22nd in Toronto, there is going to be a delightful show at the Garrison. Featuring gramofriends Henri Fabergé and The Bawdy Electric. Go go." - Said The Grammophone

"The Bawdy Electric, a band who describe their genre as unpopular popular music, but I feel like that will change soon as they achieve massive popularity due to being indescribably awesome. They have pop hooks so catchy you start wondering if you’ll ever remember other music, but it’s the classic power-pop feel that will make you want to dance and sing in a manner that is totally appropriate for a concert, but decidedly embarrassing if performed elsewhere." - Indyish.com

"C'est l'auteur-compositeur-interprète Christopher Durning qui assurait la première partie de la soirée, livrant seul à la guitare électrique des chansons de style rock et blues sans afféteries. Quelques tournures mélodiques signalaient parfois l'influence de Meatloaf (le premier Bat out of hell, surtout), en moins opératique. Armé d'une voix sûre et d'une excellente présence sur scène, Durning a su décontracter la foule, livrant pour chacune des pièces la juste dose d'humour et de sincérité." - Petite Musique De Nuit