Album Reviews

“Future PEERS” By Future PEERS

Final Rating- 8/10

After spending most of the last decade as Boys Who Say No, the band has rebranded themselves as Future PEERS. They are aiming to become your new best friends as Canadian rock music continues to evolve and change every year. The band itself has a rich history of art in Toronto outside of music as lead singer Luke Correia-Damude a film school graduate and he co-founded the Whippersnapper art gallery and keyboardist Mike Lobel spent six years on Degrassi. After hooking up with Kevin Drew and other musical visionaries they have created a project that is wholly unique while also recalling some of the most cutting edge art coming out of Canada.

The album opens with Better Left Lost, which is an apt title as the song sounds like it was recorded underwater with Correia-Damude’s taking a deep breath from a snorkel and making it close to indecipherable with gurgles. Trying to focus more intently on what he is singing just makes the beach vibes even more overpowering with the playful plucking of the guitar. As soon as you think you know what you are you getting on the album, a clear burst of Correia-Damude’s voice on All I Ever Want Is You, easily grabs your attention after being so intently aware of the little details you can scrape together from the opener.

For Friends takes the off key warbling synths that helped make Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr a rising name (before they went full on pop and shortening their fantastic name) while not letting their foot off the pedal and going for a fuzzed out screeching symphony. It makes you want to dance and clap along to the chimes that come in half way through the song and throw your body around in joy.

By the time you get to Craft, the intense drumming from William Culbert that drives through every song like a freighter has you bouncing in your seat. Distortion is used at the right moments for energy and fun, but the band knows when to not over do it and allow for the quiet moments come through allowing the listener to take stock. Correia-Damude’s yelping has a Born Ruffians influence with a glitchier feel.

Fuck Noises is a cleaner song, once again allowing the band to switch styles and show their versatility. The guitar and keys have an old school rock and blues feel that wouldn’t be out of place on harder Rolling Stones tracks. Correia-Damude ends the song singing sweetly asking, “Who are you” over and over again after spending most of the early part of the song screaming into a megaphone “Do you remember, huh?” creating some lovely contrasts both sonically and tonally.

Instead of slowing down the anger it gets brought up again on Too Reserved, which Sebastien Grainger of DFA 1979 wishes he could have written for their underwhelming comeback album as thick bass lines from Antonio Naranjo pairs great with Culbert’s sheer pounding.

Kevin Drew’s mentorship clearly paid off as the off kilter musicianship and bravely masking the vocals on several songs could have easily devolved into a muddled mess but instead where there is anarchy, beauty emerges. The cover art of two painted naked women at first looks like the classical work of Picasso, but staring into the eyes of the lady in front shows a freshness and mystery that is new and current and makes the art work’s era impossible to pin down. The albums short and sweet thirty-eight minute run time works great with their punk rock meets art pop ethos. Their winking to those who pay attention shows that the multitude of instruments used all play a role, however little in making the recipe just right as it adds layers and nuance to the work.

About author

Music Editor at Live in Limbo and Host of Contra Zoom podcast. Dakota is a graduate of Humber College's Acting for Film and Television. He now specializes in knowing all random trivia. He writes about music, sports and film. Dakota's life goal is visit all baseball stadiums, he's at 7.