Their Majesties
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Their Majesties

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"Show Review 2: Halifax Pop Explosion"

One of the few acts that aptly balance a huge range of independent pop, from Jonathon Richman's eccentric rock to The Sea and Cake's geeky math-pop and even defunct East Coast staples like Thrush Hermit or the Super Friendz. The five-piece had no problem holding their audience captivated, giving the afternoon set a much needed dose of accessible and intelligent songwriting that kept gimmickry and melodrama to a minimum and the hooks steady. - Exclaim Magazine


"Show Review 3: Halifax Pop Explosion"

It's being called here first: This fivesome of Dal students will make Halifax rock again. Their Majesties have Halifax's fastest growing fan base and they showed why once again Saturday at the Seahorse. Rotating between three singer/songwriters - in the tradition of our city's celebrated 90's scene - the boys rocked a packed house throughout their infectious 35-minute set. Local musicians Joel Plaskett and Matt Murphy are among their most predominant supporters, and those in the intimate club found out why. With only a handful of bar shows under their belts, Their Majesties held their own with Controller.Controller and the Organ, also on the bill later that afternoon. - Dalhousie Gazette


"Best Local Release You've Probably Never Heard"

These guys played a few benefit concerts at my high school in Halifax, and it was always apparent that they were better than your general high school band. Then about a month ago their 3 song EP showed up in the station Box of Love. Naturally I cued it up and had a little listen, and was totally blown away. They have completely evolved from your reasonably composed garage band into a tight-knit extraordinarily listenable band. The lyricism is clever, and fitting for their casual style. The rhythm are upbeat, pop tunes infused with casual, clean. - Earshot Magazine


"The Sound of Their Majesties"

Fate was on my side and it turned out young lads of the Their Majesties were set to play Stereophonic, the CHMA funding drive, on the 15th of January. So I caught up this upcoming Halifax band before their rocking Saturday night slot at George's Road House in Sackville New Brunswick.

Firstly, who are these guys and what are they all about. The band is made up of Brian Charles O'Reilly for guitar and vocals, Daniel Girard and Andrew Erskine on guitar, keyboard and vocals, Panos Giannoulis on Bass and Jeremy Stewart playing percussion. The members have all been friends since junior high school, but only officially came together as a band in early 2004, after a request to play Harper's residence party at Mount Allison University last year. Still music resonated within them far before that; Girard reflects, "I remember Andrew, Brian and I sort of taking up an interest playing guitar the summer after grade nine. We all just hung around at Brian's house and played whatever was lying around. We recorded our first song; it had a banjo in it: dam bag." Then O'Reilly joins in on the reminiscence, "it was after that game Mad Gab and we thought it was really funny that Mad Gab backwards was Dam Bag."

Currently they are all students attending Dalhousie University in Halifax, to a varied capacity, but have aspirations to pursue music at the forefront for as long as they have the opportunity. O'Reilly explains, "short-term future we'll record a cd and hopefully tour Canada, you do what you can without getting help from other people." The boys have a refreshingly honest take on their situation and as O'Reilly describes, "I hate the perception of people who are in bands of the all mighty record deal; I think it's so skewed. We literally do not think of it as that we're working up to a record deal. Right now we're working up to becoming a tighter band and having more people hear the music." As of now the boys remain unsigned, and although that is not their motivation they realize it is often an essential ingredient in having their music heard. Erskine comments, "it's all about expanding, and that [a record deal] would be a really nice thing to enable us, but we're not fixated by it.' As of right now there's more work to be done, the boys recently recorded a three song EP/demo at Ultramagnetic Studios in Halifax with Charles Austin, but hope to get a full-length album under their belt in the near future. Their first release, Emergency Band Meeting is youthful pop, rock blend on which you can see the influences of some of their Halifax predecessors, Thrush Hermit, Sloan, The Superfriendz, that the boys grew up listening to. As far as sounds goes, Girard comments "we don't always want to be compared to the other Halifax bands, we were influenced by them but I think we bring a fairly different sound. We play rock and that's what we play but we"re not weighed down by the genre. We try to throw in different elements, keyboards are a big difference and our classical training in the earlier years."

Thus far they've been doing fairly well for themselves and have landed a few opening spots with Joel Plaskett, The Superfriendz and various other popular Haligonians. As well, they were recently crowned champions of Music Stop's "Big Break" contest, securing them a show at Halifax's popular Marquee Club. It's all been coming together fairly quickly, Stewart notes, "I can't even remember the chronological order of how things happened, how we got shows?" O'Reilly then interjected, "I don't know, I mean the same way everyone else does. The uninteresting "just calling people and bugging them." Whatever they did it seems to be working, because the band has a wealth of shows in line for the upcoming months. Including playing in Hell's Kitchen on the same night the Broken Social Scene and Stars play the Marquee upstairs. The boys seem to be set. It is a new year, Giannoulis has resolved to, "keep being sexy" and O'Reilly hopes to "conquer [his] ridiculous fear of girls,' but now it's time for us all to get down to the Roadhouse and infiltrate those Sackvillians with some solid Halifax tunes.
- Earshot


"Show Review 1: Stereophonic 2005"

Their Majesties may be the geekiest band on the planet, but hey, being geeky never hurt Weezer, and it sure as hell didn't hurt them. Fronted by three very pretty boys and playing bubbly power pop, they whipped the crowd into an even bigger frenzy. The show marked the first anniversary of their first show, which coincidentally was at a residence party right here in Mount Allison. Since then, they've morphed into an extremely tight band, and are looking more comfortable onstage every time they play. They're also starting to develop a distinct sound that blends the rawness of The Strokes with the melodic sense of Death Cab for Cutie. This is a band that could get very big, as they seem to have the right blend of originality and accessibility to connect with a huge audience. - The Argosy - MTA newspaper


"I Heart Music - Album Review"

A few weeks ago, when I published this year's edition of the Hottest Bands in Canada poll, perhaps the most common criticism was the lack of East Coast representation. And to some extent, such criticism was understandable -- after all, Sloan was the highest-ranking Maritimer, and they left Halifax long ago enough that they're at least as much a Toronto band.



Not only was such criticism understandable, however, Their Majesties present a pretty compelling case for why such criticisms were totally justified. After all, Lands Where Tales Are Tall is one of the top albums of the year. Much like The Bicycles or Henri Fabergé and the Adorables, it expertly blends retro-sounding pop with a modern sensibility, and it's extremely easy to imagine that if Their Majesties hailed from Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver, they'd be everywhere.



In co-frontmen Andrew Erskine, Brian O'Reilly and Daniel Girard, the band has a trio of lead singers who collectively sound like a wonderful mixture of Jack White, Morrissey and Sam Roberts(!). They're backed by an extraordinarily solid collection of tunes, all of which do a good job of getting to their hooks as quickly as possible and then embedding them into your brain until all you can remember are the ten tracks here playing on repeat in your memory. It doesn't matter whether the songs are short (as in "Solid Gold" or "The Judicial System") or long (the five-minute-plus "Wayside"), everything here is ridiculously catchy.



If there's a criticism to be made of Their Majesties, I suppose that would be it -- that they're merely the latest in a long-line of East Coasters (see also: Sloan, Joel Plaskett, In-Flight Safety, Two Hours Traffic, etc.) who specialize in pop that hearkens back about four decades. But as Lands Where Tales Are Tall shows, this is hardly a bad thing, and if it means that Their Majesties remain one of Nova Scotia's best-kept secrets, it's the rest of Canada's loss. - http://www.IheartMusic.net


"CBC RADIO 3 HPX show Review"

Available at http://radio3.cbc.ca/blogs/2006/10/NMC-Track-of-the-Day-for-Wednesday-October-25th-2006-Their-Majesties-Highspeed

While at the Halifax Pop Explosion, Lisa and I spent Friday night traipsing (as my Mom would say) around town trying to catch as many bands as humanly posssible. We spent short time in Hell, a room beneath The Marquee Club, where we took in a set by hometown boys, Their Majesties.

All of the rock critic adjectives apply: "catchy, infectious, hooky, angular". Actually, "angular" doesn't describe them. It doesn't describe anything musical, really. It's just a word that critics like to use.

Most of all, this band was entertaining. Something that a lot of bands forsake.

I could spend some time here discussing musical theory and song structure as it relates to "Highspeed". With the descending guitar lick going from the major to the relative minor..yada yada yada...but you'll get it. They wear their influences on their sleeves. Add to all of that, we interviewed Daniel Girard on Saturday night and he was a helluva guy. - CBC Radio 3


"Chartattack.com HPX review"

Available from http://www.chartattack.com/damn/2006/10/2308.cfm

Downstairs in Hell, Mardeen and The Clicks made indie waves. But local newbies Their Majesties stole the evening with their smart, sexy and soulful sounds, making a strong case for themselves as the breakout act of the week. Since releasing their debut in late summer, the Haligonian quintet have been gigging hard and earning the praise of in-the-know locals. - Chartattack.com


"Next Big Thing in Halifax Rock"

Available at: http://www.thecoast.ca/1editorialbody.lasso?-token.folder=2006-08-31&-token.story=147882.112113&-token.subpub=

by Sarah Feldman

Brian O'Reilly is showing off what he calls his "apartment." Standing in the kitchen of Just Friends collective co-founders Dave Ewenson and Brent Randall, Their Majesties' frontman points out a sleeping bag rolled up at one end of the kitchen pantry. "That's my bedroom," he says. "That's the computer room, that's the living room"—an unplugged monitor and a child's stool shoved together in the opposite corner. "And that," he says, pointing to a top shelf crowded with clothes, "is my loft."

It's worth noting that the singer-guitarist of the Halifax indie pop band is not actually delusional, even if their first LP, Lands Where Tales Are Tall (released by O'Reilly's kitchen-mates Just Friends this week), suggests a lively sense of fantasy for a group that's been beset by a ridiculous number of real-world setbacks in the two years since the release of their widely-praised EP, Emergency Band Meeting (including the financial ones that led O'Reilly to make the decision to take up residence in a pantry). In fact, one of the band's favourite tall tales has to do with an ex-fire truck they bought from the HRM in 2003 before departing on their first tour.

"We got it at the city auction thinking 'Huge red van, this is dope as fuck'," says O'Reilly. "Then we took it out on tour and it broke down on the very first day."
"We had two tours of Canada where we basically slept in a Canadian Tire every night. Our first tour we broke down like, six times in three days," drummer Niall Skinner says.

"This story keeps getting more elaborate every time we tell it," notes O'Reilly.

"Yeah," Skinner says. "We actually broke down 30 times in three days."

Van trouble was just one in a string of problems that kept Lands Where Tales are Tall on hold for nearly two years. Their work at Electromagnetic Studios with Buck 65 producer Charles Austin was repeatedly interrupted as bassist Panos Giannoulis went in for knee surgery, Skinner was scammed out of $2,000 and Daniel Girard nearly cut off his finger while working in the meat department at Sobeys. Three surgeries later, Girard still isn't sure if he'll be able to play piano like he used to.

But sitting around the kitchen table in the room where CKDU indie-rock-cum-vegan-cooking show "Let's Get Baked" is recorded, it all sounds like material for the whopper they're still dreaming up together, riffing off each other in increasingly elaborate stories and jokes. Asked if they'll be taking the moneypit-on-wheels along with them on their upcoming tour, they announce a firm intention to "run it into the ground."

"If the engine breaks down this time, we'll probably just knock out the bottom of the van and run it along, Flintstones-style," Skinner says.

"I wanna be buried in that van," O'Reilly adds.

"We'll be like Viking kings, buried in our own ship," says singer-guitarist-keyboardist Andrew Erskine.

Despite all the problems that plagued its making, what shines through most clearly on Lands Where Tales are Tall is the fun had by a bunch of guys making music together, not the frustrations of trying to make it as a band. Tracks like "Shoestring Divider" and "Fire Island Unchaperoned " belie the strain of their creation with fist-pumping rhythms, noodling silliness and plenty of pop sweetness in the soaring chords and harmonies.

How did they manage to retain that kind of immediacy through such a dragged-out process?

"Charles was a big help," O'Reilly says; then, laughing, "So was Jack Daniels."

"I think it's just because we're really really good at what we do," says Erskine.

That cracks them all up for a few minutes.

Friendship's one obvious factor in making the band's run of bad luck almost sound like a good time. All five of Their Majesties have known each other for several years: Skinner, Erskine, O'Reilly and Girard went to high school together, and Girard and Skinner even attended the same daycare as toddlers. In grade 11, Erskine, O'Reilly and Girard began jamming after school, dubbing themselves The Porcelain Gods (they gave up the moniker after a US arena rock band by the same name threatened legal action). They quickly agreed on the rotating front-man structure that continues in the band to this day.

"Since no one was clearly better at playing guitar and singing we all took turns at it," says O'Reilly.

Soon a drummer and bassist were added to the roster, while the three original members continued to switch off on keyboard, guitar and vocals. The looseness of roles allowed the band to focus on the collective songwriting process that gives rise to the complex, multi-part structure of many of the Lands Where Tales Are Tall tracks.

When original drummer Jeremy Stewart left, the band chose Skinner to replace him, in part because they already knew and liked him.

"It was more important that we - The Coast


Discography

Lands Where Tales Are Tall (Just Friends Records, 2006)
Emergency Band Meeting EP (Independent, 2004)

'Lands Where Tales Are Tall' Canadian Campus Chartings (available from http://www.chartattack.com/charts/college/oldcamp/oldcamp.cfm)

Station/Location - Charting
CKDU, Halifax NS - No. 1
CFUR, Prince George BC - No. 7
CHMA, Sackville NB - No. 4
CFRU, Guelph ON - No. 15
CFMH, Saint John NB - No. 3
CIUT, Toronto ON - No. 14
CFBU, St. Catherine's On - No. 10
CFBX, Kamloops BC - No. 9
CHRW, London ON - No. 9
Earshop Top 50 National Airplay Charts - No. 9

The 'Emergency Band Meeting' tracks have received airplay on the following stations:
Q104, Halifax, NS
C100, Halifax, NS
CKDU, Halifax, NS (charted #2)
CKBW, Bridgewater, NS
CAPR, Sydney, NS
CHMA, Sackville, NB (#2)
CFRU, Guelph, ON
CFBX, Kamloops, BC (#25)
Earshot, Canada wide campus charts (#91)

Photos

Bio

Lands Where Tales Are Tall
(Released Sept 9, 2006 - Just Friends)

"one of the top albums of the year (...) expertly blends retro-sounding pop with a modern sensibility, and it's extremely easy to imagine that if Their Majesties hailed from Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver, they'd be everywhere." - I Heart Music

"All of the rock critic adjectives apply: "catchy, infectious, hooky". Most of all, this band was entertaining. Something that a lot of bands forsake. " -CBC radio 3 (Craig Norris)

"Kings of Pop" - The Chronicle Herald

"This album brims with a boisterous sense of fun, a bratty sense of humour, a clever and fresh point of view, and adept musicianship." - The Coast

"...everything here is ridiculously catchy." - I heart Music

HISTORY!
THEIR MAJESTIES they call themselves, and the bees knees, they's is. They used to go by The Porcelain Gods, and wouldn't you know they garnered national attention in late 2004 with their hit EP 'Emergency Band Meeting'. It ran up the campus charts like a flaming chipmunk, gaining top 5 status at several stations, and gained them a few fans. The lads tightened their belts and slung their packed lunches over their shoulders, bought a shiny red touring vehicle from the local fire department, and took their travellin' menagerie half way across the fine country of Canada, causing all sorts of people to rave mad about their "explosive display of indie-rock power" (J. Lapointe) and "much needed dose[s] of intelligent songwriting and steady hooks" (Exclaim Magazine).

That was all well and good, but ya can't coast on a 3 song ep forever! So what do you know? The lads hunkered down in an underground bunker/studio, and recorded an album "built on the complexities of a multi-songwriter band and a wide array of influences, [that] never forgets how to rock" (The Coast). "LANDS WHERE TALES ARE TALL" they calls it. Filled with songs of yearning and escapism, disguised as clever pop-rock tunes, the album was released to rave reviews.

SOUND!
Listen in awe, as the trio of Andrew Erskine, Brian O'Reilly, and Daniel Girard launch a rotating attack of guitars, keyboards and vocals, while Niall Skinner's artful beating of the drum skins is set alongside the creative bass lines of Panos Giannoulis. The results: a sound that blends the youthful exuberance of Supergrass, cleverness reminiscent of the Kinks, driving guitars, classically-influenced piano, and, like a sweet cherry topping a chocolate-vanilla sundae, a rhythm section at times as nimble and intuitive as early-era Police.

CONCLUSION!
There you have it, burn your old 45s and lock up your daughters, throw "LANDS WHERE TALES ARE TALL" by Their Majesties in your disc player and take a trip far, far away.

Http://www.justfriends.ca

Http://www.theirmajesties.com