For those of you who don’t know, I live in a Canadian music indie cave. It’s wonderful (most days) and very satisfying. Unfortunately it’s kind of lame of me. It’s lame because I rarely expose myself to other music genres or I do, but refuse to listen to them unless forced (I know, I know…Santa is not pleased). As a result, I have become an indie-brat. So, when the opportunity to review a new, up-and-coming band outside the indie genre was presented to me I thought to myself, “Alright, indie-brat, pack your flashlight and get your hiking gear on…it’s time to escape!” and I did.
We Heart Music would like to introduce to you (insert drum roll)…Roads. Roads will be a radio hit. Their music is the type of music you’ll hear all over the radio and your 14-year-old cousin will ooze over for the next two months, singing in front of her mirror (that would have been me when I was fourteen). This is not a bad thing because someone’s got to keep the radio alive! So here are the goods…
Roads are a Montreal based pop band that formed in 2006 as Flicker. Flicker didn’t stick and as a result they changed their name to Roads, as a tribute to the strange, yet exciting coincidences that brought them together to form the Roads. The three members in the band, Garen Jemian (vocals and guitar), Iris Campo (drums and vocals) and Alfred Jozikian (lead guitar) produced their first album, The Great Lament, via an old PC and mic that was found in Alfred’s basement. In 2008 they made their first appearance on Canadian Music Week (CMW).
Let’s catch up to 2010. On October 26th at Cabaret Just Pour Rire, Roads released their latest album entitled Remember Today, which was produced by Scott Moffats from the late 90s pop band The Moffats. Their old “indie-fireside sound” (as they state on their MySpace) was replaced by a new pop sound that embodies the tough-love relationship they had with music, themselves and the industry. In the coming months they hope to do some touring and expose Canadians to their happy-go-lucky tunes, while also staying true to the friendship they have developed with each other and their commitment to their music.
And I’m sure you’ll be one of the people I see in their car bopping their head to Roads, and if not, at least give them a listen… let’s try to jump outside our comfort zones and forget the snow suits.
To watch the interview we shot with the band, just click here.
Cool beans. Stay tuned-in for the next big thing, Let’s get Loco! A special month long edition of We Heart Music dedicated to local Montreal & Brooklyn artists.
Roads preformed at their album launch, Remember Today, on October 26, 2010 at Cabaret Juste pour rire. We got some video (coming soon). We got some photos and we got some hugs.
