artist THE EARDRUMS

There’s more than one way to skin a cat; there’s more than one way to run a band. A quick survey of the indie landscape might have you convinced that there are exactly three permissible arrangements of persons and instruments within a band. Any bandwagon jumper can cop a pose from Pitchfork, buy a Nord, and get chillwaving. And that’s awesome. It’s just not the way the Eardrums operate.

Fact: this band stands unfashionably apart from the scene. They’ve been operating exclusively on their own terms over the last half decade, and they have the lack of success to show for it. So far, the Eardrums saga could be characterized by an obstinate refusal to relinquish control or accept conventional wisdom as gospel.

Still, when given half a chance, these three schmucks from the suburbs do it up right. In 2009, the band released Eardrops, their debut release. Recorded entirely in their bedroom jam space and produced by the band themselves, Eardrops is the sound of a new act emerging fully-formed with an accessible style all their own. Eight tracks and 26 minutes later, the band was making waves locally and beyond (Top 10 @ KICK FM; Top 100 of 2009 @ UMFM; Top 200 national campus radio for 3 months). Their fresh and vital blend of garage rock, blues, and classic punk sounds utterly alien among their contemporaries in Winnipeg and beyond, but remains instantly familiar to anyone who remembers the primal thrill of rock and roll.

The intervening years have seen one Eardrum get married, another engaged, and all three complete their schooling. Plans for a full-length release in mid-2012 are beginning to coalesce, but in the meantime, the group has prepared We’re Not From Toronto, a 4-track EP that demonstrates how the Eardrums have expanded upon the signature sound established on their debut. The unmistakable hit is the titular “Toronto”, a sarcastic epic condensed into 3 minutes of relentless hooks and harmonies. Tracks two and three hit equally hard: the slinky noir jam “Can’t Say No” and the synth-punk clusterf*ck called “I Don’t Know What It Is”. As with Eardrops, the first three on the new EP are entirely self-recorded, though you wouldn’t know it if we didn’t tell you. Track four, on the other hand, is a live cut that must be heard to be disbelieved.

The release of We’re Not From Toronto will be accompanied by a smattering of choice gigs around town. Taking over the world is still the ultimate goal, but conquering Winnipeg is a necessary first step.