Recording: The Luyas

Artist: The Luyas

Songs: Beating Bowser + Bucky's (2 Hours) Late

Recorded at Longboat Hall (Camp Wavelength – Night 3), August 20, 2017.

The Luyas - Beating Bowser

The Luyas - Bucky's (2 Hours) Late

Since 2009, the summer Wavelength festival has been a highlight of the season, slowing down the hectic "festival experience" to an Island pace and making the whole thing as much about the vibe and the location as the (always well-curated) music. When this spring's floods shut the Island down, there was a ripple of apprehension from many quarters at the loss of favourite summer hangs, culminating in the festival decamping to the mainland. The WL crew did an excellent job in emulating the festival experience in the outdoor/daytime portion, but it was harder to feel the same sense of relaxation and freedom in a bar.

When I see Montréal's The Luyas every couple years or so, it always turns out that I like them a bunch more than I remember. Over their last couple releases, it also sounds like they've gotten a bit groovier, which made this a less moody set than I recall getting from the band. Perhaps it was that Singer/guitarist Jessie Stein left her Moodswinger at home — in any case, for her part, she was in a cheerful mood, confessing that "there was a point in my life, when I was quite a bit younger, where my goal in life was to play Wavelength."