Between the surplus of one-way streets easing congestion in the downtown core and hosting a music festival like Sled Island, Calgary has figured something out — redneck reputations be damned.
Babe Corner sounds like the name of a fictional band that might be the subject of a Daisy Jones & the Six-esque YA novel. The all-women Vancouver quintet further fit the bill with their fun-loving onstage demeanour, clearly enjoying themselves as they played off of each other and the audience.
When vocalist-guitarist Lindsay Sjoberg asked if there were any Biancas in the room before launching into a song of that same name, there weren't any takers, save for one guy who said he had an ex named Bianca. ("Sorry, dude," Sjoberg offered, before later revealing that the song was actually about somebody's mom.)
Photo: Babe Corner by Em Medland-Marchen
In addition to bringing this energy to the sweaty legion, Babe Corner certainly do work on paper. While occasionally described as power pop, their music feels very influenced by classic rock, with steely guitar riffs and neon-streaked synths driving the melodies.
Sjoberg's voice, however, is delicate and balmy, with four-part harmonies from her bandmates helping bolster its softness into a fuller sound. It serves the more mid-tempo, atmospheric tracks well, but when Babe Corner really lets it rip, it almost feels like a fundamental mismatch to have Sjoberg trying to match the bombast of their towering nostalgia vocally.
That said, it's very possible that interpolating "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" into the closing song of the set would feel less delightfully silly and unexpected from any other vocalist, and that would have been a great injustice to all.
Photo: Babe Corner by Em Medland-Marchen
When a band sounds as polished and clean as TOPS do on record, it feels like the best-case scenario in a live setting be to meticulously recreate the arrangements. Adding another layer of interest to a performance beyond that is almost too much to ask.
Enter: Jane Penny. Further proving that the person fronting the band can, as their title suggests, be the foremost, the TOPS vocalist immediately made it clear that she is the vehicle for the sensual energy of their scintillating synthpop catalogue. Taking the stage in an unassuming black crop top and denim miniskirt, Penny immediately came to life as she cooed the first note.
Photo: TOPS by Em Medland-Marchen
For those not incredibly well-versed in TOPS' discography, on the surface, it's tempting to first associate them with the lounge-y sophistipop sound threaded throughout their oeuvre. Oscillating tempos give it some variance, but you could easily think of TOPS as a band that makes a lot of same-y, easy-listening, pristinely produced songs, with Penny murmuring gauzy, unintelligible words that add to the ambience.
This mistaken impression is quickly remedied by experiencing the group's live performance. While TOPS still gamely play fan favourites from 2014's Picture You Staring, they made it clear on Sled Island's opening night that the best is yet to come now, almost 15 years into their tenure.
Photo: TOPS by Em Medland-Marchen
"Call You Back," an as-yet-unreleased track from the band's forthcoming album Bury the Key, was an undeniable highlight. Every song showed Penny's effortless dynamism as a frontwoman, as she playfully traced shapes in the air as she moved her arms along with the music and twirled — but on a higher-tempo number like this, that sees TOPS exercise more dynamic peaks and valleys than ever before, it was perhaps the part of the set that unleashed the singer's belting prowess.
Penny is, as it turns out, full of surprises. Having grown up in Edmonton, her speech is peppered with a "y'all" every few sentences, but she can also speak perfect French and embodies the untranslatable notion of joie de vivre with how she carries herself on stage (not to mention the ability to bust out a flute solo).
Photo: TOPS by Em Medland-Marchen
While we predominantly know her as the breathy, falsetto-wielding provider of the lilting, swaying melodies that are TOPS' bread and butter, she has an Amy Winehouse earthiness and grit that emerges, with guitarist David Carriere visibly chuffed to see her come out.
If "Call You Back" and the strong singles "ICU2" and "Chlorine" are any indication, Bury the Key might see Penny at her most fearless, and TOPS unlocking another truly special door of possible ways to stretch their sound. It's the kind of note to start a festival on that awakens you from your jet lagged haze with a jolt.