Halifax, Nova Scotia is a fairly small Canadian city with a surprisingly rich music scene. One of the most acclaimed and hard working bands there is the irrepressible Walrus.
The band's latest release is a catchy psychedelia-tinged single titled 'Cool To Who', taken from a forthcoming LP of the same name. The album, which is being released on 18 October via Outside Music, was recorded in Riverport, Nova Scotia at the Old Confidence Lodge, an 18th century old theatre on the banks of the LaHave River.
“Originally we had just planned on trying out OCL for a couple of days to see if we liked it, but ended up just banging out the whole record that weekend,” says Jordan, the band's drummer, who co-founded the four-piece with singer and principal songwriter Justin. “The main room there is enormous so we were able to have the whole band setup to play at once - being able to play along with everyone definitely gave it that live sound.”
We first saw Walrus' live show in their hometown of Truro, Nova Scotia (yep, the town where Trailer Park Boys is filmed) for Nova Scotia Music Week, where they scooped an award for Alternative Recording of the Year. A few months later we saw them again, this time at tastemaking festival Tallinn Music Week 2018, where they were one of the best acts of the whole festival.
The song 'Cool To Who' was in the live set back then and it's definitely been given justice on the record.
To accompany the release, the band have taken to creating their own Trump baiting spoof Youtube content that's also a little bit of a nod to Flight of the Conchords. Check it out below:
Canada is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to new music in 2019. From Winnipeg, there's the incredible Micah Erenberg, Warming, and tunic. From Toronto we were blown away by neo classical singer and pianist Jeremy Dutcher. From Yukon there's a thriving DIY scene with two-piece garage rockers Soda Pony among our favourites. In Montreal, the scene based in and around those Moonshine rave parties has been worth keeping an eye on, with Pierre Kwenders and Jerico among our top tips from there.
And all those considered, Walrus are definitely up there.
Artwork: Walrus - Cool To Who (out 18 October via Outside Music)
Tracklist:
1. Breathe
2. Cool To Who
3. Half Smoke
4. Marcel
5. Mr. Insecure
6. Played Out
7. Ballad Of Love (Or Something)
8. Out For A While
9. Bored To Death
10. Anymore
