Hooded Fang November 9, 2012

** SOLD OUT **

With surf guitars, ‘verbed-out vocals and danceable 1960s drum breaks, it’s a veritable garage rock riot. Hooded Fang‘s second album Tosta Mista sounds like the whole of the Nuggets box set condensed into an album that’s just 23 minutes long.

It’s the sound of sweaty patio parties and hot summer nights, but the upbeat music masks the fact that Tosta Mista is an album about heartbreak, telling the story of singer/guitarist Daniel Lee and bassist April Aliermo’s breakup after five years together. The album is about ‘Love, lust, heartbreak, dramatic shit like that’. To hammer that last point home, they titled the album for the grilled sandwiches sold in their Portuguese neighbourhood of Toronto.

Now a five-to-seven-piece band (depending on the project in hand), Hooded Fang sprung to life in the attic bedroom shared by Daniel and April, the name coming from a classic children’s book written by Mordecai Richler. Conveniently, Nick Hune-Brown, keyboardist, lived downstairs. The band used to rehearse in that attic room and they would even put on shows for local and touring bands. It’s where they recorded a 2008 EP and 2010’s self-released, Canada-only debut, Album, which earned them the Polaris nomination, made them the most blogged band on The Hype Machine and led to tours with The Rural Alberta Advantage.

Support comes from Young British Artists, who have managed to craft and master their songs just out of glare from Manchester’s bright lights for a couple of years now. The influences are wide but the sound is reigned in and tight, utilising the energy and bluster of garage rock but turning it inward upon itself; a shoegaze band with unabashed confidence.

Opening the show will be The Bell Peppers - two cack-handed young men from Manchester, England who dig Surf Music, Rock & Roll, Doo-Wop and 1950s and 1960s R&B.

Official Website: http://crd.fm/1Im