Toronto label-mates bring fresh sounds to Guelph
On Sat. March 12, 2016, indie-pop/rock band Father Christmas and experimental dream-pop band Hush Pup took to the stage at Jimmy Jazz in downtown Guelph.
Father Christmas is lead by guitarist and songwriter Kyle Peters, a guy who knows his tones and sounds. His jangly Silvertone guitar was often perfectly drenched in reverb, modulated delay, and phase shifting effects that were no doubt fine-tuned over the course of hours of basement jams. Peters is also a recording engineer and has helped to produce a few records of his own, including the Father Christmas release.
This expertise in balance and tasteful tone tweaking clearly shines through in the band’s live performance, which was well composed and encompassing. Songs featured an array of swooning chord changes and build-ups, inflated by a double trumpet section and vocal harmonies from Jen Murphy and Gillian May. The band paid special attention to compositional detail, and even featured Murphy playing a bicycle bell on the song “Housten St.”; a subtle feature replicated on studio recording.
Peters is also finely attuned to the affinity between the musicians he brings into his project and on-stage. Off the top of my head, I can remember three different line-ups for Father Christmas since I first saw them in November of 2014. This active refining is appreciated and shows Peters’ dedication to finding his own unique sound.
Hush Pup is a three piece daydream whose sound landed on a distinctly different vibe than the previous act. I’m often weary of a band without a drummer; there’s something about a drum machine that doesn’t quite resonate in the same way. Maybe I’m just old-fashioned. Hush Pup was able to fill out the sound admirably. Ida Maidstone’s vocals differed from a lot of dream-pop in that they weren’t an overwhelming feature of the band’s sound. She was subtle, sophisticated and ethereal all in a single breath.
It was refreshing to see a band experiment with the dream-pop sound, which can often sound rehashed or essentially just another version of Beach House. Hush Pup deserves recognition for actively trying to break the mould in the genre and their recordings seem to really exemplify this intention.
Father Christmas and Hush Pup have both released music through Legwarmer Records, a small independent Toronto label that has put out a handful of quality indie-pop releases over the past three years. Father Christmas has plans for a new release coming soon this year, featuring the band’s current lineup.