Music
Inuk folk-rocker Willie Thrasher keeps the spirit soaring
by Jesse Locke
October 30, 2015
Plus hear new music from Fist City, Sik Rik, and a Pleasence Records Halloween mixtape.
No Rest for the Obsessed is a column spotlighting some of the most exciting new music AUX’s Associate Editor Jesse Locke finds each week. It began in 2010 for Calgary’s dearly departed alt-weekly FFWD, and takes its name from a Lightning Bolt song.
Willie Thrasher – Spirit Child
Last year’s Native North America compilation was a staggering introduction to the sounds and stories of unsung Aboriginal musicians. Light in the Attic continue their celebratory reissue efforts with the spotlighted release of Willie Thrasher’s Spirit Child LP, first issued as a CBC Northern Service Production in 1981. From the bubbling togetherness anthem “We Got To Take You Higher” to the dreamily downcast “Silent Inuit”, it’s a tuneful trip into the longing life of a traveler from the Northwest Territories. If and when the Native North America series continues with a second volume, let’s just hope they correct the balance to include some female artists.
Fist City – “Where Were You”
Lethbridge/Calgary barrage-rockers Fist City have been spending a lot of time in the UK since their signing to Transgressive Records, so this cover choice is apt. The Mekons’ 1978 calling card gets a bit more revved-up muscle in their heftily capable hands. Fist City’s 2015 LP, Everything Is A Mess, should definitely be on your radar too.
Sik Rik – Sik Rik
Ten of the best minutes you’ll spend this week come courtesy of Sudbury’s Sik Rik (featuring a rotated rogues’ gallery of members from Mick Futures and Strange Attractor). Their new cassette comes with the band’s stamp of approval (“duped better than our previous biz”) with some brilliantly dumb Spits-style synth rippers about bong hits, pizza faces, and hamburger heads. If you’re down to dig deeper into the Sudbury scene, check out the Brain Tape label comp from this summer.
Various Artists – Pleasence: Sounds of Horror
As a bone-chilling bonus for their five-year anniversary bash, Toronto’s Pleasence Records tricked and treated showgoers with the scariest sound FX cassette this side of the Golden Arches graveyard. The 30-minute spooktacular features some weirdness from label acts such as Man Made Hill, New Fries, JFM, Andrew Zukerman, and Brodie West, plus some exclusives from the likes of Gatekeeper, Doom Tickler, and the triumphant return of Claudio. Thanks to Spooky Chart Attack, anyone who missed the grip can hear the whole shebang. Happy Hollow Wang!
