Community and friends, two things that music can bring together. With The Gertrudes and their latest album Dawn Time Riot they have accomplished this. While the Kingston based collective has a core of eleven members, the album features over 100 Kingston musicians including P.S. I Love You, Queen’s Symphony Orchestra, The Skeleton Park Children’s Choirs, and lead singer Annie Clifford’s Grandmother. The album was recorded in their backyard of North Of Princess Studios. Kingston also has a very cool DIY music scene that is fueled by Apple Crisp Records, a label that organizes concert series, festivals, workshops, zine fairs, a music video club, and more. This context is important when listening to the album as it truly shows the collaborative and caring nature of the communal tracks.
The sound is big, a plethora of instruments ranging from brass, strings, banjos, ukes and mandolins to the more standard rock band instruments of guitar, bass, and drums. These lead to a mish mash of sounds. Wind from the South has that epic sound of setting off on a journey with your best friends, featuring poppy instrumentation, multiple vocalists, and the type of song arrangement that makes the listener want to dive in, jump around and sing along. Then you have a song like Freight Train which leans in a bluegrass direction which listeners will either love or hate. Sailor immediately conjures images of the past, images of fishing villages dotting the shore in a time before gas guzzling monsters as the song laments and offers up a prayer for those lost at sea.
The Gertrudes are able to look back at the sounds gone by while also moving forward and providing tunes that bring people together and install a sense of community. Music that is created and supported by those who truly care about what they do is something worth getting behind.
The Gertrudes will be playing at Halifax Pop Explosion on Friday October 22nd at the Foggy Goggle. Also playing that night are Hot Panda, Grimes, and Freelove Fenner all for $10. They are set to deliver one of those memorable performances that should be a highlight of the festival.
