Bobbyisms: Marianas Trench get a Juno sized shaft
I write about random things a lot. I write a lot about random things. Every now and then, I have to deliver bad news, news that I consider to be something of a travesty, and oh... how I wish this wasn't one of those times. But there's been a terrible oversight.
This year will mark the 40th annual Juno Awards, hosted in Toronto. Unless you're quite new, you may know that the Junos are presented to Canadian musical acts to acknowledge their “artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music.” However, if we were to put our collective heads together, I would wager we could come up with a whole list of artists or bands that have achieved a great deal this past year.
In truth, I can think of no Canadian group that has achieved more in 2009 than Marianas Trench, whose record Masterpiece Theatre entered our lives on February 24 last year, debuting at number four on the Canadian Albums Chart. It did so thanks to a weeklong album preview on Muchmusic.com and riding on the strength of the single Cross My Heart, released the previous December of 2008.
Since then, the record has spawned three other singles, including Beside You which this past week reached number one on MuchMusic, and the band's seventh and most recent single, Celebrity Status, a video for which is ready to be released. In truth, the band finished touring the record a few months ago, returning home to British Columbia to recharge while singer/guitarist Josh Ramsay entered the studio to produce various bodies of work, including work on new material for the group.
“I'm working on some new MT stuff as we speak,” he posted recently on Twitter. He and bandmates Matt Webb on guitar, Mike Ayley on bass, and Ian Casselman on drums all share vocal responsibilities - their Beach Boys-esque ability to harmonize vocally is matched only by their ability to write great songs.
Simply put, Masterpiece Theatre is probably the best Canadian album of 2009. It deserves an Album Of The Year award at this years Junos, as similarly does the band deserve Artist Of The Year, yet neither award are going to be a reality - Marianas Trench are not nominated for a single award this year, and will be taking in the show (airing April 18) from home.
Chances are you know who the band are, or have heard one of their singles on radio or online at some point in the last 16 months. Maybe you don't immediately agree with my feelings about the album (because I know, there were great albums by Alexisonfire, Billy Talent, Michael Bublé and more), but I really pored over the subject these past few days - I decided that if I was going to make such a claim about any record, I should look closely at a number of factors.
One such factor is definitely the quality of the record itself, as well as one for how well it was received. Critically, the album has received outstanding reviews, garnering 4.5 out of 5 stars from Allmusic.com and 5 out of 5 stars from Melodic.net. Closer to home, though, I don't know anyone that has listened to the record that hasn't been outspoken about how much they've enjoyed it. I repeat - in real life, without exaggerating, I don't know anyone that hasn't liked the record after listening to it. Looking at the play count in my iTunes would very likely reveal it to be the most played record of 2009 in my collection, as well.
To look at another angle, this record has made an incredible impact for the band, as not only has it attracted a much wider and more diverse following, but has guided them into progressively larger venues along the way. That was evident even here in London, as they went from playing a packed show at Call The Office in July to a sold-out event at Cowboys Ranch, which is more than twice the size. Additionally, Marianas Trench enjoyed performing three shows during the Winter Olympics in Vancouver and a concert here in Ontario at Massey Hall just a couple of weeks ago.
The record doesn't simply feature a strong collection of pop-rock songs, it demonstrates in its title tracks a real mastery in the craft of songwriting. Masterpiece Theatre I opens the album, a soaring, epic rock song. “If I burn out, and slip away, well... this is just a part I portray,” it says, establishing a solid momentum for the album and the theme of performance. The theme (and lyric) is tenderly reprised in Masterpiece Theatre II, which opens as a pure a cappella song and showcases the group's incredible vocal talents, in both harmony and arrangement.
Fitting then, that the album closes with Masterpiece Theatre III, an opus beginning with an apprehensive verse and moving on to reprise the hook and/or chorus of every song on the entire album, deftly written together and ending with a triumphant euphony as the band declares, “this is just a part I portray - I don't know how it got this way.”
I have neither the room in this column nor a big enough vocabulary to describe to you how good the songs on the album are, excepting to say that the year and a half they invested in the album are apparent and testimony to the quality of the finished product. You may not agree that Masterpiece Theatre is the best album of 2009, but I'd be willing to wager that if you purchased a copy, you would be satisfied with every cent that you spent.
Check out Marianas Trench online at MarianasTrench.net or on Myspace at myspace.com/marianastrench. Listen to their latest album and be sure to note when next they're in London, because it will be sold out fast. Me? I'm out of words.
This year will mark the 40th annual Juno Awards, hosted in Toronto. Unless you're quite new, you may know that the Junos are presented to Canadian musical acts to acknowledge their “artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music.” However, if we were to put our collective heads together, I would wager we could come up with a whole list of artists or bands that have achieved a great deal this past year.
In truth, I can think of no Canadian group that has achieved more in 2009 than Marianas Trench, whose record Masterpiece Theatre entered our lives on February 24 last year, debuting at number four on the Canadian Albums Chart. It did so thanks to a weeklong album preview on Muchmusic.com and riding on the strength of the single Cross My Heart, released the previous December of 2008.
Since then, the record has spawned three other singles, including Beside You which this past week reached number one on MuchMusic, and the band's seventh and most recent single, Celebrity Status, a video for which is ready to be released. In truth, the band finished touring the record a few months ago, returning home to British Columbia to recharge while singer/guitarist Josh Ramsay entered the studio to produce various bodies of work, including work on new material for the group.
“I'm working on some new MT stuff as we speak,” he posted recently on Twitter. He and bandmates Matt Webb on guitar, Mike Ayley on bass, and Ian Casselman on drums all share vocal responsibilities - their Beach Boys-esque ability to harmonize vocally is matched only by their ability to write great songs.
Simply put, Masterpiece Theatre is probably the best Canadian album of 2009. It deserves an Album Of The Year award at this years Junos, as similarly does the band deserve Artist Of The Year, yet neither award are going to be a reality - Marianas Trench are not nominated for a single award this year, and will be taking in the show (airing April 18) from home.
Chances are you know who the band are, or have heard one of their singles on radio or online at some point in the last 16 months. Maybe you don't immediately agree with my feelings about the album (because I know, there were great albums by Alexisonfire, Billy Talent, Michael Bublé and more), but I really pored over the subject these past few days - I decided that if I was going to make such a claim about any record, I should look closely at a number of factors.
One such factor is definitely the quality of the record itself, as well as one for how well it was received. Critically, the album has received outstanding reviews, garnering 4.5 out of 5 stars from Allmusic.com and 5 out of 5 stars from Melodic.net. Closer to home, though, I don't know anyone that has listened to the record that hasn't been outspoken about how much they've enjoyed it. I repeat - in real life, without exaggerating, I don't know anyone that hasn't liked the record after listening to it. Looking at the play count in my iTunes would very likely reveal it to be the most played record of 2009 in my collection, as well.
To look at another angle, this record has made an incredible impact for the band, as not only has it attracted a much wider and more diverse following, but has guided them into progressively larger venues along the way. That was evident even here in London, as they went from playing a packed show at Call The Office in July to a sold-out event at Cowboys Ranch, which is more than twice the size. Additionally, Marianas Trench enjoyed performing three shows during the Winter Olympics in Vancouver and a concert here in Ontario at Massey Hall just a couple of weeks ago.
The record doesn't simply feature a strong collection of pop-rock songs, it demonstrates in its title tracks a real mastery in the craft of songwriting. Masterpiece Theatre I opens the album, a soaring, epic rock song. “If I burn out, and slip away, well... this is just a part I portray,” it says, establishing a solid momentum for the album and the theme of performance. The theme (and lyric) is tenderly reprised in Masterpiece Theatre II, which opens as a pure a cappella song and showcases the group's incredible vocal talents, in both harmony and arrangement.
Fitting then, that the album closes with Masterpiece Theatre III, an opus beginning with an apprehensive verse and moving on to reprise the hook and/or chorus of every song on the entire album, deftly written together and ending with a triumphant euphony as the band declares, “this is just a part I portray - I don't know how it got this way.”
I have neither the room in this column nor a big enough vocabulary to describe to you how good the songs on the album are, excepting to say that the year and a half they invested in the album are apparent and testimony to the quality of the finished product. You may not agree that Masterpiece Theatre is the best album of 2009, but I'd be willing to wager that if you purchased a copy, you would be satisfied with every cent that you spent.
Check out Marianas Trench online at MarianasTrench.net or on Myspace at myspace.com/marianastrench. Listen to their latest album and be sure to note when next they're in London, because it will be sold out fast. Me? I'm out of words.
