Weaves – Weaves
(Photo by Brendan George Ko; courtesy of Hive Mind PR)
The concept of synergy is when the creation of a whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and if you think about it, the idea is a fascinating phenomenon.
You’d expect 1 and 1 to make 2, but with synergy, that’s not always true; what if instead of adding together, they realize they are more valuable as two “ones” together, and decide to fuse into “11”. Of course, it is more complex than just pushing two numbers together, but in any case, let’s take Toronto noise-pop band Weaves for example.
They’ve got a singer, a guitarist, a bassist, and a drummer, so naturally you would expect a standard rock band, especially coming out the hyper-populated indie rock world of Toronto. But instead of coming together to form a rock band, they’ve set out to do something a little different. With Jasmyn Burke on vocals, Morgan Waters on guitar, Zach Bines on bass, and Spencer Cole on drums, the combined energy and charisma of each member’s contributions comes to together to equal something much greater.
After being named “a band to watch” by Rolling Stone back in 2014, Weaves found themselves on music radars across North American and the world. Fast forward to 2016 and the band have released their highly anticipated debut full-length Weaves. It has been along time coming, spending the past two years writing and recording across Toronto, and their accumulation of time, effort, and creativity has been shared with the world.
All of the hype surrounding the release has been well-deserved, their genre-defying sound accomplishes the goal of standing out, yet fitting in simultaneously. Weaves are doing something different, but make sure not to deter listeners away for being too eccentric or too indigestible (although the album artwork may suggest otherwise). This is where the synergy kicks in – from opening feel-good tune “Tick”, to the slow-burning “Stress”, the band does a fantastic job of fusing together individual parts into something bigger and easily enjoyed by many.
Like a jigsaw puzzle, the animated percussion on tracks like “Birds & Bees”, “One More”, and “Coo Coo” build the outer walls, while the unpredictable, untamed guitar parts on “Tick”, “Candy”, and “Human” take the lead on melody and fill the gaps, and Burke’s gritty, lo-fi vocals orchestrate the album’s chaotic energy to complete the puzzle. Separate the instrument tracks and you’ll get sporadic, frantic puzzle pieces that seem to be on their own course. Although they could easily stand on their own (take the rhythmic cluster of instruments on “Coo Coo” for example), once they come together, the music is taken to another dimension, one that is nothing short of fun and exciting.
The variance in sound and personality across the track list gives Weaves such an irresistible flair; the colourful confetti feel of “Tick” and “Birds & Bees” turns into distorted, electrifying density on hit singles “Candy” and “One More”. The dynamism creates the urge to dance around, but not without inviting a more shoegaze approach with songs like “Shithole”, “Sentence”, and “Stress”, giving their lo-fi indie rock sound a well-rounded appeal.
They’re standing out, but welcoming listeners in, they’re finding coherence through the chaos, but most importantly: Weaves are just a hell of a good time.
You can catch them on tour (dates below), and order your copy of Weaves through their website.
Tour dates:
05/28 London, ON – Grickle Grass festival
06/02 Berlin, DE, FluxBau – Tickets
06/03 Mannheim, DE, Maifeld Derby festival – Tickets
06/04 Nimes, FR, This Is Not A Love Song festival – Tickets
06/07 Tunbridge, UK, Wells Forum #
06/08 London, UK, Dingwalls #
06/10 Edinburgh, UK, Electric Circus #
06/11 Liverpool, UK, Studio 2 #
06/12 Manchester, UK, Deaf Institute #
06/13 Nottingham, UK, Bodega #
06/14 Cardiff, UK, The Globe #
06/15 Cambridge, UK, Portland Arms #
06/17 Antwerp, BE, Trix – Tickets
06/18 Hilvarenbeek, NL, Best Kept Secret festival – Tickets
06/20 Nottingham, UK, Rough Trade (in-store)
06/21 London, UK, Rough Trade East (in-store)
06/24 Oslo, NO, Piknik I Parken – Tickets
06/29 Lille, FR, La Peniche – Tickets
06/30 Derby, UK, The Venue
07/01 Bedford, UK, Esquires – Tickets
07/02 Aldershot, UK, West End Centre – Tickets
07/03 Brighton, UK, The Prince Albert – Tickets
07/04 Guildford, UK, Boileroom – Tickets
07/07 Manchester, UK – The Castle Hotel
07/08 Winchester, UK, Railway – Tickets
07/09 Milton Keynes, UK, Craufurd Arms – Tickets
07/11 Reading, UK – Purple Turtle
07/12 Leicester, UK, The Musician – Tickets
07/14 London, UK – Shacklewell Arms
07/15 Southwold, UK, Latitude festival – Tickets
07/17 Glasgow, UK, Nice N Sleazy – Tickets
07/18 Newcastle, UK, Think Tank – Tickets
07/19 Leeds, UK, Brudenell Social Club – Tickets
07/20 Liverpool, UK – Studio 2
07/21 Nottingham, UK – Bodega
07/22 Birmingham, UK – Hare and Hounds – Tickets
07/23 Huntington, UK, Secret Garden Party festival – Tickets
08/09 Columbia, MO, Café Berlin
08/10 Dallas, TX, Three Links – Tickets
08/12 Phoenix, AZ, Rebel Lounge – Tickets
08/13 Los Angeles, CA, The Echo – Tickets
08/15 Seattle, WA, Barboza – Tickets – Tickets
08/16 Vancouver, BC – Biltmore Cabaret – Tickets
08/18 Calgary, AB – Palomino
08/19 Saskatoon, SK – Vangelis Tavern
08/20 Winnipeg, MB – Rainbow Trout Music Festival – Tickets
08/21 Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry – Tickets
08/22 Chicago, IL, Schubas – Tickets – Tickets
08/24 New York, NY, Mercury Lounge * – Tickets
08/25 Brooklyn, NY, Baby’s All Right * – Tickets
08/26 Philadelphia, PA – PhilaMOCA * – Tickets
08/27 Toronto, ON – Horseshoe Tavern – Tickets
09/02 Salisbury, UK, End of the Road festival – Tickets
09/16 Paris, FR, Point Ephémère % – Tickets
# w/ Beach Slang
* w/ Cayetana
% w/ Sunflower Bean
