There’s always something about a messy garage environment that punctuates the rawness of a punk band’s sound. For Audio Visceral, the spirit of The Ramones is alive and well in their new track “Teen Ranch”. Driving guitars and in your face vocals are essential for any typical old school punk rock band, and these guys aren’t ones to leave it out of their sound. Nevermind the lyrical content of the song, that the title encompasses so clearly, all about the ridiculous things you do as a Teen. Take a listen, how many of these things have you done? While digging for the goods on these Vankleek Hill garage punkers, the first thing I happened across is that lead man Steve Beauchesne owns and operates his own craft brewery – which includes a milk stout- how cool! Anyway, I’m no life coach, but when you’re brewing beer by day and playing in a punk band at night, I’d say you’ve got it all figured out. We’ve all heard the old remark “Don’t quit your day job” when a band wishes to go from amateur status to the big leagues. But for these guys, it’s a win-win situation. Catch Audio Visceral tonight at Jimmy Jazz Guelph! – Chris PJ D

Taking the boom of indie rock and using the oft-underused technique of raw, layered vocals, Century Thief is certainly doing good work in a great way. The six-piece from Toronto are ramping up to their Sept 10 release of their first debut album, “Reverie”, and the first samples from it will certainly put you into a daydream. The backbone of both “Pillar” and “City Banks” are the beautiful vocal harmonies. In Pillar, they hit soaring highs, carried along by the pulsing drums, with horns, strings and woodwinds gently carrying, tastefully layered along with the backup vocals, never losing a single moment of this well-orchestrated (literally) piece. Parts flutter and fade to and from the forefront, creating a beautiful swell that really hits all at once, not making any one single musician the star, but rather the music itself. City Banks waltzes along, with trumpets, violins and flutes all creating a great counterpoint melody. The song builds and builds, while the rock inclinations of the band come to the forefront, crashing and stomping through, creating a great contradiction that pieces together perfectly. The lead vocals portray a raw soul, with the layers upon layers supporting underneath to drive the point straight home, effective in its brief length, not wasting so much as a second of the listeners time. If you love the beauty of ambient-rock, and dig orchestral instruments even more, that these guys are a definite buy. You can catch them on their CD Launch Tour, Sept 10th at The Piston, with a handful of dates following. – Cody Wright