North of Summer has a pop rock, country sound with an artful twist. The band is fronted by singer/songwriter Timothy Kingston and drummer A.J. Frick. Born and raised in Toronto, Kingston now manages a strawberry, raspberry and sweet corn farm north of Peterborough, Ontario. Frick is in her 3 year at the Ontario College of Art and Design. North of Summer's first LP Broken Telephone is an eclectic collection of songs spanning multiple genres. The album digs deep into different themes like friendship, the environment, conflict and individuality.
North of Summer takes their name from the title of a book of poetry written by Canadian poet Al Purdy that he wrote while visiting Baffin Island in the Canadian arctic. The band is determined not to be confined to one style of music and this is evident when seeing them live and listening to the Broken Telephone LP.
REVIEWS
Wavelength Magazine Dec 2006
North Of Summer Broken Telephone (Independent, www.northofsummer.com)
You can tell from the beginning of Broken Telephone's opener "Lost Track" that they like to operate on a grand scale. They make use of a big spacey sound and successfully juxtapose it onto a steady diet of folk and blues flavoured rock. Vocalist Timothy Kingston somehow manages to channel Bono, Thom Yorke and Axl Rose all at once - which is a big part of North of Summer's larger-than-life sound. Fortunately they manage to avoid the typical pifalls of having such lofty ambitions and don't get too bogged down. "Big Ol' Rock" cuts loose with a great piano riff and surf guitar while "Hey, Moses" skips merrily through puddles of big-band blues, beatnik poetry and punk rock. The greatest strength of Broken Telephone is its ability to shift gears seamlessly and without warning, making it very difficult music to pigeonhole, but lots of fun to listen to. - Jon Sohn
File Next To: Spacehog, The White Stripes
REVIEW-Halifax Times Chronicle March 2007
Spill Magazine Jan 2007
Sometimes an album takes you completely by surprise. North of Summer's Broken Telephone, their second release and debut LP, is one such album. Self-produced by a bunch of Toronto kids and recorded independently at a youth media organization in Sutton West, ON, it is, at its very least, a feat of considerable accomplishment; at its best it is utterly mind-blowing. Soaring melodies and tripping, half-sung vocals, all anchored by jangling piano rhythms, make for easy Arcade Fire comparisons, but this powerful collection of music is also diverse, and its influences expand to include the White Stripes, the Violent Femmes, Spoon, and traditional blues, among others. But even with the incorporation of such variety, Broken Telephone still maintains a beautiful coherency, allowing the band's own unique style to shine through. Some of the best tracks include "Big Ol Rock", "Confidence", "Kindness", "Affection", "Winter"... in fact, I could go on to include the whole album. Look for North of Summer on tour at small clubs, including February 17th at the Avant Garde Bar in Ottaw and February 28 at the Boat in Toronto. Better yet, check them right now, online at www.northofsummer.com
- James Sandham