Sadoceanspacebear

One of those rarefied Toronto-based bands who aren’t either mining the ’80s, getting eyeliner all over their biker jackets or holding punk for ransom in some dilapidated disco, Sadoceanspacebear alternate between moody, psyched-out scene setters and searing, melodic guitar-rock anthems on this excellent full-length debut. Remarkably, the band pull off what ought to be an awkward union between classic Giant Sand-ish cactus art-rock, and ass-kicking material that could have been lifted from that brilliant Breeders follow-up album that never quite materialised. According to the contributors’ list here, Sadoceanspacebear have played host to enough quasi members to qualify as a social scene of near broken proportions, but chief among key elements here is vocally-gifted, guitar-toting front-person Michelle Breslin, whose easy, natural rock stature makes Melissa Auf der Maur look (and sound) downright square by comparison.