 |
| TOPS |
Windy City Rock caught up with Montreal's twinkling soft-rock outfit
TOPS, who strolled into Chicago this week for two shows- last night at The Empty
Bottle and tonight (Thursday) at The Burlington. Touring in support
of their debut release
Tender Opposites (
Arbutus Records), the
band excels at crafting tight, kinetic pop songs and spacious,
fragile ballads. While it's easy to draw comparisons between TOPS and
current/former label-mates Grimes and BRAIDS, the truth lies
somewhere in between. Absent is the heavy gloss of the former, and
the obtuse structures of the latter. The result is an easily
digestible album riddled with catchy melodies and smart songwriting. The band's personality seems to share that dichotomy; a charming combination of whimsy and thoughtful perspective. You can catch TOPS at
The Burlington on Thursday, September 27th ($7, 21+). In the meantime, enjoy our chat with Jane Perry [vocals/keyboards] and Riley Fleck [drums].
WCR: To start, where did you all meet? How long have you been playing together?
JANE: We all came to Montreal a few years ago, David [guitar] and I both
came from Edmonton and knew each other from before, everyone else met
hanging out and going to shows. We had been playing music with
Thom [bass] for a couple years, he used to play drums with us and he wanted
to play bass instead, so we asked Riley to jam with us at La Brique
to see if it would work out. We got together and played some songs
that David and I had started. It was really easy right from the start
to finish songs and play together, so we decided to make a band out
of it. That was a year and a half ago.
WCR: What role has living in Montreal had in shaping your sound, if any?
JANE: We all came to Montreal to make music and meet other people
that make music. Montreal is great because people don’t have a lot
of money and don’t aspire to. There’s a lot of creative people,
and a lot of opportunities to dance and get fucked up.
Posts
