Artist: The Sole Pursuit
Album: Flower City After Dusk
Ontario based rock band, The Sole Pursuit, pours their heart and soul into their album Flower City After Dusk. Written by Kyle Dawe, the lead vocalist, it focuses on the experience that he had living in the suburbs of Brampton. Kyle isn’t the only creative force on this album however, the lead guitarist A.J. Perry has left his mark, making this dynamic rock duo create an album that is not just rock, but something more. Kyle and A.J. are not the sole musicians on this album, however. Drummer Tony Nesbitt-Larking and bassist Dylan Burrett round out this four-piece rock band. This album is like nothing I have heard before, a mix of rock and metal vocals intertwined with unique musical timing to create an emotional recounting of life in the suburbs.
The album art work is an interesting cartoon depiction of the suburbs with an evil mountain coughing smoke in the background. This reflects the meaning of this album, the darkness behind the mundane. Not to say that living in the suburbs is always boring, something clearly shown in The Sole PursuIt’s music. Smashing Pumpkins and Coheed and Cambria are some of Kyle’s influences that can be heard on this album.
Opening the album, the song “Ashes” showcases how the music and the vocals play off of each other. Kyle deftly switches from metal to rock vocals, making for an always interesting sound. Most albums ease you into the style of the artists, but “Ashes” showcases the power that comes form Kyle’s voice and the instruments behind him. That’s not to say that Kyle gets all the spot light however. The next song “Culling Season” has some amazing guitar break downs from A.J. that almost make it like the guitar is singing a verse.
What I believe to be the most powerful song on the album, “Get Fed”, is a song written about a friend of Kyle’s that developed a drug problem. “Get Fed” has a music video that is an experience to watch. The song itself is stellar, and nails all of the strong points this band can hit. However, when listening and watching the video, a sense of numbness over comes you. Kyle himself says that “he deliberately wanted the song to sound a little dissonant and disjointed” which I think hits the theme of this song perfectly. With an interesting style change “Hate Enslaves” has an eastern European vibe that keeps the album fresh and unique. This song is an excellent change of pace even if it does have a heavy message. My personal favourite on the album “Snapping Back” has a strong pump up intro that leads into Kyle’s amazing vocals. The fact that Kyle can mix his rock vocals and also push out those metal raspy screams is staggering; I do not envy his throat after a night of performing but That’s what sets this band apart.
Growing up not far from Brampton I may be a tad biased, but I can not say enough good things about this band. Not only do they create awesome music but they also have a ton of extra content on their twitter and Facebook page. Flower City After Dusk can be picked up on Spotify as well as Band Camp. This is an album that I would definitely pick up to rock out to over the summer.
Drew Kolohon is an avid music fan who is finishing up his Bachelor’s degree in English.
