Band-o-Month: Spy Machine 16
Well, September’s almost done. But before it goes, I have to squeak in my Band-o-Month pick before it’s too late!
This month’s band is Spy Machine 16, a band based out of Guelph, Ontario who before September I had never heard of before. It all started on the first Friday of the month, at the usual meeting of the Scotch Friday crew at the Grad House. The Grad House is a great place to see local bands in the Waterloo area and I was pretty pumped because the next Friday, Knock Knock Ginger, one of my favourite local bands, was coming to play a show. The only thing was that this band I’d never heard of, Spy Machine 16, was opening. Whatever, I planned on going anyways and didn’t give this random opening band much thought.
Fast forward a little later that week, I was at the Gym listening to the Zunior.com podcast for September and heard this track that really caught my attention at the end of the podcast. It was loud, rocking and had more hooks than an elementary school coat rack. I made a mental note that I had to find out who that band was and check them out after I was done at the Gym. Turns out the track was “I Lost My Edge Last Night” by Spy Machine 16. Bizzare? Maybe. But a pretty nice coincidence since I then downloaded all their track from their MySpace page and listened to them all week. I was now really pumped for the concert that Friday!
There’s something about dancing that I just don’t get. Maybe it’s because I really suck at it. Usually, I’m the guy at a show who’s hovering around the back with a beer listening to the music, not tearing it up the makeshift dance floors at the front of the stage. But listening to Spy Machine 16 do their thing, it’s next to impossible not get with the beat. After all, the band’s even got an in-house dance squad! Spy Machine 16’s latest album, How Things Come Apart, is chalk full of amazing pop-punk anthems (kind of like a Canadian Los Campesinos!). Songs that will cheer you up and energize you after you’ve had a crappy day! Plus some of the song have pretty progressive messages (the band describes themselves as “cute as a button, anti-imperialist as fuck”). It’s nice to hear some pop-punk that remains true to its punk music heritage.
So go check out Spy Machine 16 and I’m positive you will not be disappointed! Here are some links that might help you out.