Soundscapes (572 College St.)
Criminal Records (493 Queen St. W.)
in GUELPH
Ground Floor Music (13 Quebec St.)
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On The After EP :
"Fine vocal harmonies and a synth line that nags harder than MGMT at the races complement this track from Montreal trio On Bodies."
- Henry Barnes, guardian.co.uk (on "Tables and Chairs").
"...the band has a flair for the dramatic (especially when it comes to Mark Ambrose Harris' vocals), and they channel it through a synth-pop sensibility rather than a metal/screamo influence. Or, in more concrete terms, it means that songs like "Blank" and "Wasteland" could be extremely intense if you were to focus entirely on Harris' baritone, but they're pulled back from the brink thanks to the combination of catchy synths and Sheena Hoszko's backing vocals. It makes The After EP one of the more unique listening experiences I've had in awhile...and I most definitely mean that in a good way. Here's hoping that their follow-up won't take four years to release."
- Matthew Pollesel, i(heart)music
“Their music [has] matured into the soulful mix of dark and danceable synth-pop present on The After EP, which even still is nothing compared to what they can do with a live show.”
- Peter Knegt, Indiewire.com
“The fact that none of the band members play guitar as their primary instrument is something not many bands are willing to do; On Bodies have done it with skill and grace on this debut. The rest of the EP is something special but for me to sit and describe it wouldn’t do it enough justice...I don’t know if there is a full-length LP in the works but I hope there is because I want more!”
- Nathan Allen, Fazer Magazine
“…a reflection on what voice means to us.”
- Jeremy Morris, Midnightpoutine
“Takes issues of representation and identity and transforms them into music.”
- Jeffrey Mackie, The Friday Morning After, CKUT FM
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On Bodies’ anatomy consists of a melodious torso with three separate, distinct heads: Mark Ambrose Harris, whose deep dramatic baritone serenades an introspective set of keys; Sheena Hoszko, whose raw soaring vocals blend beautifully with the distorted lines of her bass; and Brian Fauteux, who knits it all together on the drums, providing an unbreakable backbone for the band’s sweeping compositions.
Together, this tight triad plays an angular mix of post-punk and dark pop that is as much about the body as it is the soul. Formed in 2005 by proud nerds Harris and Hoszko, On Bodies played their first show in Montreal in October of 2006. Eight months later Fauteux joined the team and On Bodies began to develop their sound. Having grown up on a diet of 90’s alternative and punk, the members cite a cross-section of musical influences: Joy Division, Sleater-Kinney, PJ Harvey, Cat Power, and Diamanda Galás. On Bodies released their debut album, The After EP, in the summer of 2009. Produced and recorded by Martin Horn at Digital Bird Studios, the 6 songs on this recording are about invisible moments, erased tapes and faded pictures. The After EP examines the altered spaces that immediately follow an event or an instant, where we are left to consider what remains and ponder that which came before. Notions of identity and displacement are recurring themes for the band, but despite the heaviness of the lyrics the music is not gloom and doom. The After EP offers a serious mix of danceable rock and rumbling epic ballads, and is also the aftermath of the past four years in which On Bodies discovered all of its parts and what makes its heart beat.
