Recording: Surrender Heads

Artist: Surrender Heads

Song: So In Vain^*

Recorded at Burdock Music Hall, July 10, 2015.

Surrender Heads - So In Vain

Perhaps it was a propos that on my first trip to the rather-new Burdock Music Hall I was out to investigate a rather-new band. The venue, just east of Bloor and Dufferin, is a separate room attached to a restaurant, and feels fresh and tidy — my first impression was that it felt just as likely there could be a yoga class there as a rock gig. Hopefully this cozy spot will stick around for a good while.

The band, meanwhile, was fronted by Paul Linklater, a guitarist who's elevated every group I've seen him on stage with. (The Pinecones and Bidiniband are the most notable of those.) Surrender Heads gives him a chance to stretch out in a different direction, and joined by Evan Cartwright (drums), Leland Whitty (guit) and Doug Friesen (bass) there's some definite jazz chops on stage, so it's no surprise that's one of the main musical strands here. That influence still manages to emerge in several varieties, though, ranging from genteel ballads to the prog-flecked style here that nudges into Sea and Cake territory. And even then, there was still room for some left turns, like a gorgeous, set-closing instrumental version of "Pancho and Lefty". The band is on twitter and facebook, so keep an eye out for any forthcoming dispatches.

^* Thanks to the band for passing along the title to this one!