STEREOGUM Premiere of “Proper Burial” feat. DIANA’s Carmen Elle
With the group appearing on the cover of NOW Magazine’s Christmas issue, and their POLARIS Long-Listed debut LP “I” making it onto 2013 best-of lists from NOW, The GRID, BlogTO, Torontoist, the Toronto Star, and a raft of indie blogs, Fresh Snow’s new directions in instrumental music are clearly something that the critics agree on. “They can shift from Godspeed to Kraftwerk to Mogwai within the same song, and then segue to eminently danceable synth-led disco a few minutes later with some pleasantly woozy violin lines offering a decidedly human counterpoint to the mechanical rhythms driving things” wrote Chromewaves blogger Frank Yang.
Born in a dive bar on Toronto’s Bloor Street in 2010, four friends gathered to make improvisational music based on their love of drones, noise and—less obviously—strongly melodic pop music. Since their first show in 2011, Andy Lloyd (bass, keys) , Brad Davis (guitars, keys), Jon Maki (drums), and Tim Condon (keys, etc) have released a split 7” single with METZ, a full-length album, “I” (Reel Cod Records), and a cover of ‘Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle’, featuring vocals by Julie Fader on the Nirvana tribute album, Milkin’ It (Hand Drawn Dracula).
They have been invited to perform at NXNE, Wavelength, Long Winter, Electric Eclectics, and Arboretum Festival, along with venues throughout Ontario and in Montreal putting on their live show that’s featured them in red hoods, wooden masks, and playing inside a pod full of projectors.
Primarily an instrumental band with a core line-up augmented by guest horn and string players (including Trent Severn’s Laura C. Bates), Fresh Snow is not easy to pigeonhole. Their upcoming WON, scheduled for release in Canada on Hand Drawn Dracula September 11, 2015, will explore different sides of the band’s aesthetic, and features vocal appearances by DIANA’s Carmen Elle, and FUCKED UP’s Damian Abraham. Just as they are prone to wearing masks onstage, so they are intent on keeping listeners guessing what they’ll do next. In an age where everything is instant and people have nothing to hide, Fresh Snow believes that a little mystery makes everything more enjoyable.
Beauty lies in the extremes. Dissonant and melodic, robotic and danceable, violent and beautiful:
Fresh Snow is all these things. And the best is yet to come.
Fresh Snow WON out September 11, 2015 on Premium Digital & White Vinyl via Hand Drawn Dracula (PRE-ORDER VINYL).
FRESH SNOW is:
Bradley Davis- guitars
Andy Lloyd- bass
Jon Maki- drums
Tim Condon- none of the above