I Heart the Music: Your Online Source for Live Music Reviews and Interviews in Toronto!

Meet The Zolas: a two-piece hark-back-to-70s Rush-esque prog-pop-rock band with a modern, more theatrical twist. The problem? There are a few.

The duo released their highly anticipated debut album, Tic Toc Tic just a month ago, and I’m already bored. At first listen, there was intrigue, but that quickly faded as I realized these guys aren’t as innovative or inspiring as I hoped them to be. The band take steps beyond pop music, but they aren’t quite over the hurdle – The Zolas seem to linger in this middle kingdom between straightforward pop and progressive, but their trendy cabaret-influenced experimental rock album sounds way cooler as a description than it actually is.

As far as pop music goes, these guys have some things to boast: catchy melodies, some interesting hooks, good drum patterns (the drumming is their strong-point), and the overall composition is cool. The instrumentals do elevate the band above your typical pop sound and they certainly carry the music, but the defeat lies within the vocals. Zach Gray’s voice is too standard, too overbearing, and his lyrics provide little to no redemption. Yes, he has the range, but his vocal placement and style just doesn’t jive with the musical counterparts.

Tic Toc Tic sounds like a Cold War Kids/Rush/Gavin DeGraw theatrical hybrid; however, the album has neither the edge nor the tightness of CWK, the musical depth of Rush, and Gavin DeGraw sucks pop. But what’s most interesting about The Zolas is their evident potential.  Zach Gray and Tom Dobrzanski clearly have skill and talent. The instrumentals approach unusual complexity and unconventionality for pop music, but the band doesn’t seem to want to go that extra experimental mile with it. Instead they’ve chosen to plateau at this thinly veiled nuanced interpretation of pop. Sure, The Zolas’ structure departs somewhat from the boring verse-chorus-verse template, and they’ve successfully created some sort of off-broadway-meets cabaret-meets radio-savvy music , but I can’t help but think that their sound is more contrived and vapid than natural or inventive. Yeah it’s fun, fluffy music, but where’s the spirit?

Even with the ability to compose and play music well, talent ultimately depends on the quality of expression and how far the bar has been raised. Again, the potential to go beyond stagy, predictable music is so strong in this album you can hear it, so I don’t know why they wouldn’t use their wherewithal to swerve off the road to commercial and do something greater…or at least use another vocalist.

Reviewed by Brittany Smith

Chicago, Illinois is known for many things: it is the third largest city in the US, it is often referred to as the “Windy City”, it is the place that Oprah Winfrey calls home, however one thing that it is not normally known for is its vast musical talent. Well that is about to change with the growing success and popularity of Chicago-based band Maps and Atlases. This foursome are known for their spazzy guitar riffs and voice-driven melodies that speak stories. However, it is their technical skill that truly impresses, as they finger tap at such a rate that it is hard to maintain where their fingers end and the strings begin. After catching their set at the El Mocambo in June, it was great to be able to chat with Dave (guitar/vocals) and Erin (guitar) for a bit about where this technicality comes from, what’s in store for the future and why their live show can’t be beat!

iheartthemusic: You guys are known to be more of a technical band, so when you are writing is that a major factor for you or is it more of an organic process?

Erin: It’s definitely an organic thing, I mean we all studied music theory but we are at a point now where when we are writing music, it’s not really  something we think about. It just kind of happens and we don’t think about it while it is going on.

iheartthemusic: From everything that I have read on you guys, it appears that your live show is where it’s at. Why do you think that is?

Dave: I think that really from our EPs there is definitely a certain amount of precision that came with the recording of them. We recorded relatively fast and since we did it ourselves, the emphasis was basically on being able to do it as good as possible. When you do hear the record version of the song that you haven’t heard in a very long time and it hasn’t sort of taken on that life, its like “oh yeah this is how it is supposed to sound” because we’ve been speeding it up or slowing it down live. I really appreciate that and I think that we all sort of emphasize the differences between the live show and the record.

Erin: It is always really funny to listen to a song that when we play it live, we play it a lot faster. I think it also has to do with the fact that we can be pretty loud sometimes.

Dave: Yesterday was really interesting because I feel like we played everything way slower than we had ever played it before. We played at this art gallery and it sounded crazy in there because it was such a small room. We also didn’t have a set list and just played whatever.

iheartthemusic: Describe the progression your band has taken musically from each album to the next.

Dave: It has been different for every album that we have done. For the first record and everything that sort of preceded that it was definitely a lot more of us just sort of stumbling upon things- which was a great process. We really never set out to be a technical band and never necessarily thought of ourselves as that at first. The last EP was sort of us acknowledging the things that we really liked doing and the things that we did well on the first EP and tried to do what we knew we did well and expand upon those layers. So songs started out as more simple ideas and then we worked in more layers here and there. With the newest album, its been a really interesting process but also really fun. Definitely the most experimental thing that we have done so far!

iheartthemusic: Really? How so?

Dave: We purposely started off with really simple ideas and then through the actual process of recording it was great to just see how it paned out.

Erin: It’s the first time we’ve left songs unfinished going into the recording process. I mean the song was done with all the melodies, but it was basically like we had bare guitar parts and all the lyrics and then left it up to the recording process to finish it. It’s also the first time we’ve ever had songs that are all strings or chords.

iheartthemusic: So when can we expect that album out?

Dave: It’s actually most of the way done so we are going to try and finish it as soon as possible.

Erin: It will hopefully be out late fall.

iheartthemusic: You recently played SXSW- what was that like?

Dave: It was really fun! We’ve played it the past three years and it has always been super crazy. I think that our perspective on it is that it gets consistenly more and more fun. The first year we sort of had a real serious perspective on the industry and then the past couple of years we’ve set out to have fun and do what we wanted to do.

Erin: We totally embraced the fact that it is the music industry’s spring break.

iheartthemusic: Were there any bands that stood out for you guys this year?

Erin: This year we were down there and then did a West-coast tour right after, so we pretty much got there and played a few shows and then left. We didn’t have enough time to actually go check anyone out unfortunately.

iheartthemusic: [at this point the boys have been discovered by fans who keep telling them how awesome they are] What was it like the first time someone came up and recognized you?

Erin: We are never really aware of that. I mean people find out about our music through like grassroots methods- which is amazing! We really enjoy that. Last fall we did some shows in the UK and we were surprised that people showed up to see us play. I mean we were thinking that that was really weird! We’re not even on a label over there so its all been through blogs and the internet.

iheartthemusic: What was the crowd like in the UK in relation to the US?

Erin: It was really crazy! We played with our friends who are maasive over there and so we played to about 2000 people! It was intense.

iheartthemusic: Since forming, what has really stood out for you as a milestone for the band?

Dave: There have been a lot of things that have been really crazy and fun, but I think the tour in the UK was the most surreal thing that we’ve done.

Erin: It was really crazy travelling like that where you wake up in another country. It was definitely was something that we never imagined that we would get to do.

Dave: Another thing was just getting to play with bands that we genuinely really enjoy which has been awesome. I’ve also never been to Toronto at all so we are looking forward to playing here too. We’ve heard that it’s a great city and thus far just being around this block for the past 45 minutes has been really great. I personally really get a feel for a city based on things to eat. If I came back a month from now I would immediately come here and wherever we go to eat I would be able to maneuver around the city based on that. Already, just driving into the city, it looks like there is just so much good food here.

Tattoo Rock Parlor was the destination du jour on April 16th if what you were looking for was an exciting, fun night combined with stellar music.  AfterpartY, Senor Kasio and The Framework were the perfect line up, proving they are all great songwriters, musicians, and entertainers.

First out was AfterpartY, an up and coming pop rock quartet out of Toronto. Throughout the whole performance my eyes were peeled on lead singer Kristina who I feel is destined to become a pop rock icon with her confidence and stage presence. I can just picture it… instead of every little girl emulating Avril and Gwen Stefani, in a couple of years they will be singing AfterpartY songs at the top of their lungs, pretending they are Kristina. Not only did she have a great energy, she also had a powerful voice, not necessarily unique in any way, but boy could she belt out a ballad. The sound mirrored the punk/pop music of the moment – non pretentious, just catchy and fun. Everyone in the band looked like they were having a great time on stage, but hands down the lead singer stole the show for me. If the stars align, they will be the next Paramore in a couple of years.

What can I say about the next band that hit the stage? There are a lot of words to describe Senor Kasio, but I’m going to have to go with FUN, FUN and more FUN! This trio from Toronto was one of the most exciting bands I’ve seen… ever!  Their energetic stage show paired with their eccentric musical stylings made for a great time that transcended to the audience. I had one huge grin on my face throughout their whole set and I know I wasn’t the only one. Their music is indescribable – you cannot pinpoint or categorize it into a genre and there are no words to describe it other than it’s a little bit new wave, with a hint of musical theatre, mixed with a whole lotta love. Their groovalicious dance moves combined with their unique and sometimes outrageous tracks like “I love it,”  “I Wanna F,” and a song about Febreze that could make anyone fall in love with Senor Kasio.

Last, but certainly not least, was headlining band The Framework who finished off the night with an amazing, high-energy set. This band has major star quality, they looked the part and, more importantly, their songs are comparable to (and in some cases even better than), some mainstream music out there. It is definitely catchy with some major radio-friendly tracks, but don’t be fooled, they are not your average pop group – they have depth and substance, which is seen in their song “Wasted”, which is a personal favourite of mine.  The melody and lyrics combined with the mysterious yet soothing sound of Chris’ voice equals pop at its finest. If I had my way, it would be a single off their new album. Musically, they remind me of The Killers and Bloc Party with a little bit of ’80s Prince goodness. It’s the music I would put on at 3am on a Saturday night, inebriated with a bunch of friends to keep the party going and to dance like no one is watching. All in all, this band is a must see! Their high-energy performance and up-beat dance tracks will make you want to boogie down… I know I will next Saturday night!

reported by Kristen Tignanelli

photography provided by Carl Heindl

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