Walrus

The Ship, St. John's NL, April 23

Photo: Vish Khanna

BY Vish KhannaPublished Apr 24, 2015

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The city of Halifax seems to send at least one amazing psych-rock band to destroy the Ship and Lawnya Vawnya each year. In 2014, Monomyth came and conquered, and this year, it was this explosive quintet called Walrus.

The band somehow mix gentle, Brian Wilson vocal melodies and orchestrations with out-of-the-blue punk thrash parts that keep listeners guessing. The high, winsome vocals and chiming 12-string Rickenbacker certainly conjured late '60s cloudy folk-pop, but the rest of the band infused the songs with sharp edges. Some of it recalled the Sadies, and the musicians in Walrus are certainly in the same league.

Back when My Morning Jacket were still kinda metal-y, they made music like Walrus is making now. It's all wild left turns that seem ill-advised but, as they steamroll past, they're a glorious sight to behold.

Check out more photos from Lawnya Vawnya over on our Flickr page.

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