January 2023 | CD Reviews

CD REVIEWS

Reviews by Chad Cronies

Sunday Morning Pay Tribute to Art Bergmann with Single Junky Don’t Care

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 Vancouver’s Sunday Morning have just released their latest single with an a-side cover of Art Bergmann’s Canadian punk classic Junky Don’t Care and a b-side original called Explain the World. Sunday Morning is the brainchild of Vancouver music scene stalwart, Bruce Wilson. Wilson’s prolific art and music career took shape in New York and Detroit after his drug and alcohol fueled grunge-punk band “Tankhog” imploded in The late 90’s. Junky Don’t Care is a tribute to Canadian punk legend Art Bergmann, and an exercise in self-reflection for Wilson, who himself survived the challenges of addiction. “Art’s music has been a soundtrack to my life and his poetic lyrics and brilliant vocal delivery are qualities I’ve always aspired to,” says Wilson. “More than anything this song is a loving tribute to a man who has never stopped being an artist and whose work has influenced me since I was the pink haired teenager writing bad high school poetry in spiral notebooks during math class.” When it came time to make the video they reunited with their frequent collaborator RD Cane; an obvious choice considering he had already directed two of Bergman’s best known videos: Bound For Vegas and My Empty House.

Born on the Florida panhandle, Bruce Wilson spent his formative years listening to his parents’ Velvet Underground and Beatles albums on repeat. Following decades of innumerable moves and fronting many bands from Tallahassee to Vancouver, Bruce Wilson emerged from a heroin induced haze uncertain about his future. After a long period of recovery and spending time in western Massachusetts he returned to Vancouver to cloister himself away for a year in a small room in east Vancouver’s Waldorf Hotel. There he started writing what was initially a novel.

Sunday Morning’s core is guitarist/producer Felix Fung, bassist/keyboardist Max Sample and vocalist/keyboardist Bruce Wilson. Over the years Sunday Morning’s studio line up has included such Vancouver music luminaries as Dave Genn (Matthew Good Band, 54-40), Carmen Bruno (Trailerhawk), JP Carter (Destroyer), Stephen Hamm (Slow), Dominic Conway (Malleus Trio) and drummer Shawn Mrazek (Flash Bastard). They’ve worked with award winning producers like Chris Birkett (Sinead O’Connor) and Howard Redekopp (Mother Mother).

Over the past year, Sunday Morning’s creator and front man Bruce Wilson has been sequestered in his small Vancouver apartment feverishly writing the next Sunday Morning album. Bruce’s songs are short poetic vignettes that are drawn from personal experience. His song cycles follow loose narrative arcs and span genres held together by a continuous thread of vulnerability that he admits still can make him uncomfortable. The release of the Junky Don’t Care/Explain The World single on December 2nd is a transitional mark in Sunday Morning’s storied history—from its naissance in a tiny downtown eastside hotel room, through a world of influences and back to a place of solitude ruminating on mortality. Sunday Morning continues its mission to span the wide range of colors on the sonic and emotional spectrums. Fans of David Bowie, Nick Cave, Iggy Pop, and Suicide will surely be delighted.

Real Sickies ★ Love Is For Lovers

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Edmonton’s Real Sickies released their newest album “Love is for Lovers” on July 9th via Stomp Records.

The band serves up yet another platter full of tasty hooks and punk rock melodies, but this time around with a dash of pop that shows a leap in songwriting craft. Recorded in Edmonton at Rob Lawless’ Physics Lab Studios, the album offers songs that straddle the border between Ramones style aggression and Strokes reminiscent vocal takes.

This color-vinyl release includes everything from explosive rockers to heart-wrenching ballads. “Love is for Lovers” has the whole enchilada!

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