THE WARPED 45s
The most common question for a band is: "What type of music do you play?" and acclaimed Toronto quintet The Warped 45s, armed with their new album Matador Sunset, have a handful of uncommon answers: "Northern Gothic.” "Back Porch of the Apocalypse." "Alt-Country Noir."
The language of the songs, the beauty and the grit, conjures the likes of Alice Munro, Flannery O'Connor or William Faulkner: "I will find the gilded palace and I'll bask there unabated." “Carl made his money fast playing Faro and five card draw. And he soaked all of that money into demon alcohol.” “I saw a pale horse come riding through a stand of flaming birch. The setting sun was a bareback rider / Know a fever will one day burn the earth.”
Often called unique within the roots-rock genre, The Warped 45s, like every band, inevitably draw comparisons. Like The Band, they write durable, earthy songs with superb vocal arrangements. Like Blue Rodeo, they have two singer-songwriter frontmen who've known each other since childhood in first cousins Dave McEathron and Ryan Wayne McEathron. Like The Weakerthans, they present unique, arresting images in novel ways: "hard-charging the red cape of a matador sunset" as a metaphor for touring, and "carried away on the aluminum wings of the great rivet-speckled bird" to describe an airplane flight. They’ve been called Canada’s Drive By Truckers.
As a band The Warped 45s’ music comes both seamlessly together and alive. Their sound is layered yet warmly accessible, with multiple voices and diverse instrumentation and has undoubtedly evolved from the band's ceaseless roadwork. The band played constantly and toured across Canada three times with their debut album, 10 Day Poem For Saskatchewan. It has made their music more cohesive and their attitude more confident. Most of all, it has provided a shared history that ties the band members together. A band of brothers whose bonds have been forged in the fire of the road who also include keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist/backing vocalist Kevin Hewitt; drummer/backing vocalist Hamal Finn Roye; and bassist Alex Needleman.
The Warped 45s have come far since their late 2007 inception. A mere 7 months after forming, the band independently released their self-titled, six-song debut EP, produced by ex- 13 Engines leader John Critchley (Elliott BROOD, Dan Mangan), scoring rave reviews and Canadian and US college radio airplay. Both Exclaim! and Toronto’s EYE Weekly cited them as “Destined for Greatness in 2009.” That year, the band won the NXNE Fan Choice Award and bought a van with the $10,000 prize.
In September 2009, the band again teamed up with John Critchley at his Green Door Studios in Toronto. The band signed to Toronto-based independent label Pheromone Recordings, which released 10 Day Poem for Saskatchewan to critical acclaim. The album climbed the college charts, enjoyed airplay on stations like Shore FM in Vancouver and national attention on CBC Radio shows like Deep Roots, The Vinyl Café and Drive, made multiple year-end "Best Of" lists, including Exclaim!’s Top 10, and made the top five lists of multiple Polaris judges.
The band continued to build momentum in 2010. They earned their first magazine cover (View) and garnered more rave reviews, both for the record and their live shows. Their video for the song “Radio Sky,” directed by Vincent Scotti was picked up by CMT’s Wide Open Country in Canada and Alternate Root TV in the states. Their songs continued to receive radio play across North America and beyond, while the band toured tirelessly, earning fans everywhere they went. They were honoured to play Hillside, and proud to share bills with friends and favourite bands such as Justin Rutledge, The Beauties, Deer Tick, United Steel Workers Of Montreal, Elliott BROOD, and Drive By Truckers.
After a winter holed up in the studio, again with producer John Critchley, The Warped 45s have emerged with Matador Sunset. Raising the bar on an impressive debut, the band’s sophomore full length album cements their position among the many talented artists and bands that have made lasting contributions to the Canadian musical iconography.
For more information, contact:
Email : info@thewarped45s.com
Publicist: Ken Beattie
Print/Radio/Digital Media
Killbeat Music
Phone: 647 654 7146 604 683 2124
Email: media@killbeatmusic.com
Manager: Tina Cooper
Phone: 647 885 4653
Email: coopert5000@yahoo.ca
Label: Kim Cooke at Pheromone Recordings
Phone: 416 961 1040 x 239
Email: kim@pheromonerecordings.com