Soul Harvest soulharvest@soulharvest.ca
Other SH sites:
SH @ garageband
SH @ besonic
SH @ IUMABand Biography and Press Kit
One last reverberating flourish fills the room, guitars strumming loudly as the drums sound off with an escalating crescendo. The music hits a feverish tempo as Ryan Lindsay shouts out to the crowd, signaling for the final crash. When it comes, the lights go down and the band takes their bow.
[insert applause]
Soul Harvest has been paying their dues in the Ottawa scene for nearly 4 years, playing around town in various venues with a diverse assortment of bands. Each year seems to bring a new change to the band's sound and style, largely due to the shifting nature of Soul Harvest's musical focus. The early grunge rock days were left behind with the introduction of a new vocalist, and the pop-blues-folk-rock stylings of the band became the prime focus as the group began regular tourings of the bar circuit. In 2002, Soul Harvest began revisiting their rock n' roll roots with a streamlined lineup, testing out new material and a new sound at some select shows. Refocused and working on a new CD, the band is preparing for 2003 with an even edgier groove, ready to bring to the stage their eclectic fusion of blues, rock, funk, and pop.
"Yes, we've had lineup problems," states guitarist/songwriter Jason St-Cyr. "You can't just put five people in a room and expect to get the right chemistry every time. We've been lucky, more often then not, to find people we can really work with, people that bring the music to a new level and bring a new way of thinking to the band. I'm very excited about this year, though, because the line-up we have right now gels really well together, on-stage and off. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens."
"The First Crops", their debut EP in summer '98, was followed by the released of their first CD entitled "The Rift" in August '99. The promotional EP "Out of the Basement", featuring Kristen Lewis on vocals, was released in July 2000. Look for news about Soul Harvest's release of their new full-length CD in early Spring 2003.The Rift
Soul HarvestIf you have the opportunity to sit back and listen to The Rift,
the newest release from Soul Harvest, get ready for an album that has a live-performance feel and covers a wide range of music. There's no shortage of pure rock on the CD, but both the sound and the subject vary greatly from song to song. Although Soul Harvest is a young band, they are lyrically and musically incredibly sound, and aside from the occasional problem synching lead and backup vocals, vocally impressive as well.
The opening track on the CD, entitled "Stumbled" is a hard rock song that gains its strength from skillful guitar work by rhythm guitarist Ryan Lindsay and lead guitarist
Sean McCullough. The poignant lyrics, written by bassist Jason St-Cyr, have a cyclical quality and the song ends almost where it began: "You need to see my face again, and you say / You need me...I need to see your face again, and I think/ I need you".
Next comes "Take Your Time", a song that demonstrates the vocal
capabilities of lead singer Dave Van Soest and provides him with the opportunity to infuse the song with a good measure of emotion. It's a solid rock song, supported by strong percussion and excellent guitar playing.
Written by drummer Chris Amos, "Wanna Go Home" is an interesting song that holds the listener's attention throughout with its constant tempo changes.
It's got a very clean sound and is a polished offering from the group.
"Momo/Good Little Girl" caught me by surprise. Finding a song that deals with relationship abuse is uncommon enough. Bordering on the unheard of is finding one written and performed by a group of young males. Musically, the rock song is well played and at times almost belies the seriousness of the subject with its lively sound. The thought-provoking lyrics, such as "All is silent now / Ear pressed to the phone / She whispers / �It's alright, we can talk, he's gone'", were written by St-Cyr.
Refreshing in a much different way is "Chillin' on the Patio", a tune where inside jokes abound and yet the universality of the theme is impossible to miss. Simply put, it is a song that celebrates the joy found in kicking back with friends. Written by McCullough and St-Cyr, it's a fun tune with great lyrics such as "Sorry ma'am, we're not stoned we're like this anyway". The song sounds as good as it does because the band is so comfortable with it.
Shifting gears once again, the next song "Windflow" is the hardest on The Rift. It's got a frenetic quality that adds to its intensity and although a very hard song, the lyrics by former bassist Sab Callander are still easily decipherable - a good thing in this case: "Your dreams are made of/The thread of a God above/The heavens scream of desolation". This skillfully played song allows Van Soest to showcase his ability to stylize his voice to metal, another of his musical influences.
"John Doe", I found, is perhaps the most lyrically and melodically impressive song on the CD. The lyrics were written by St-Cyr and the music created collectively, as usual, by the five members of Soul Harvest. It told a story that caught my attention from the beginning and kept me interested all the way through to the end: "He goes back and she's not there / Not a note anywhere / He falls back into a chair / She's gone...". Sound drumming and great playing by the three guitarists complement this slower song.
Rounding out the collection is the blues song "She's Alright". There is unavoidable head- bopping that occurs when listening to this song - honestly. It's a great ballad that manages to sound both comfortably familiar and refreshingly original. Coming as a surprise was the mid-song introduction of each band member before his solo: a clear testament to Soul Harvest's live- performance recording style.
The Rift is without a doubt a good rock CD: it offers up a good mix of harder and more thought-provoking songs alongside servings of Soul Harvest's lighter fare. In addition, the band isn't afraid to stretch beyond the confines of rock and not only attempt, but excel, in the areas of both metal and blues. You can order a copy of Soul Harvest's The Rift from the band's website: : http://soulharvest.listen.to.
Press Kit photography, reviews, and band biography prepared by Lisa Kelly for WHY?Media
