Bend Sinister

2012/13 was a busy year for Bend Sinister with the band releasing their American debut Small Fame via Nail Distribution. Their North American tour schedule brought them to CMJ, SXSW, Canada Music Week and Breakout West. The band enjoyed opening slots for Awolnation and Valient Thorr in the US and headlining shows throughout Canada from Victoria to Halifax. Small Fame enjoyed runs up the CBC Radio 3 Chart (#8), Canada’s Earshot (#18) and CMJ (#115) and garnered the band nominations for a Sirius XM Best Emerging Artist award and a Western Canadian Music Award for Best Rock Recording.

The band has recently finished recording their follow up with two time Grammy Nominated producer Joe Marlett at Signature Sound in San Diego. Continuing with their penchant for infectious melodies mixed with soaring guitar and crushing B3 organ, the follow-up Animals is slated for release March 11, 2014 via File Under: Music. Recording in San Diego brought the band a renewed sense of focus and creativity and resulted in their most focused and ambitious work to date.

While still following their classic rock stylings, the band had ventured into more complex songwriting territory and branched out into other inspirations from punk to stoner rock to pop music. “With this album we tried to say ‘yes’ to everything” cites guitar player Joseph Blood. “As much as possible we let go of any preconceptions over how we think we should sound as a band and just let the songs come out.” As a result, Animals features heavy songwriting input from each member with lyrics, chord changes and arrangement ideas coming from all four band mates. The influences run rampant from the blistering British metal of “Thunder and Lightning” to the breezy tongue in cheek pop of “Fancy Pants” to the sprawling 8 minute epic “Best of You Yet”. 

Listening to Bend Sinister is like digging through crates of records at a thrift store. Judas Priest is followed by Deep Purple and Wilco; Harry Nillsen sits next to Thin Lizzy. It doesn’t seem to make sense but as the record spins you hear the fabric of pop music history reinventing itself. You find glimpses into the past and moments that take you to a new place entirely. Animals is the sound of a band who decided to take cues from no one but themselves. It’s the result of a band that has figured out how to let go of the shackles of ego and the music industry and release exactly the kind of album they want to release. Ambitious, energetic and uncompromising it is no surprise that the members of the band consider Animals their strongest work to date.