Making music since 2012, Faux Canada is a quartet from the heart of San Francisco, describing their sound as “like the feeling of showing up at a raucous house-party and getting pulled into a closet by your secret crush”. The indie group consists of members Melinda Wegent, David Lean, Alejandro Soini, and Kevin Hobson, all coming together from different indie bands. The band name is a play on words, in reference to two of the members being born in Canada, but not growing up there. Their 2019 EP Liars’ Teeth took a retro spin on indie-pop-rock, while still incorporating inspiration from classic 90’s grunge, as well as 70’s funk and classic rock, with the EP’s first song “Stockton” even paying tribute to the classic 90’s rock band Pavement. More recently however, the group released a brand new EP called Apart Time, leaning much more towards that funk inspiration with songs such as “Let Me Go” and “Spin Move”.
“Spin Move”, the first track off the EP, is reminiscent of early shoegaze if it was dipped and soaked in pop. It’s a fun, upbeat track that’d be the perfect accompaniment to a summer drive with the windows down. The song starts slow with dreamy riffs, but once the drums kick in, the melody quickly transforms into a much more bright and optimistic sounding tune. “Spin Move” feels nostalgic, yet brand new at the same time. This is probably due to the fact that Faux Canada has mastered the perfect balance between new and old, thanks to Liars’ Teeth. Although there is a considerable amount of growth from previous works, it’s always interesting to see the similarities between an artist’s earlier releases and their newer music. And while there are similarities, Faux Canada really blew it out of the water this time.
The lyrics of “Spin Move” have a coming-of-age feel, especially in combination with the cheery instrumentals. The chorus is catchy and meshes seamlessly with the instruments’ melody. Wegent’s vocals are distinct, uniquely different from a lot of voices in the mainstream music world. Her tone is feathery but strong while invoking emotions of merriment through not only the lyrics, but the overall tune.
An indie rock religion
A thousand different reasons
To hold off for the big one
Tired, high, and young
The instrumental breakdown at the two and a half minute mark showcases an absolutely killer drum solo, which definitely lands them a well-deserved place in the indie-rock genre. The electric guitar piggybacks off the drums, resulting in a strong pop rock melody. Again, those dreamy riffs come back and lead us hand-in-hand through a ten second outro ending the song the same way it started. “Spin Move” is a lively, full circle track that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and doesn’t try to be more than what it is. Instead, it’s simple, fun, and nostalgic, which is something maybe everyone needs a little bit more of nowadays. “Spin Move” is a great track, and is the perfect representation of what to expect with the rest of Apart Time.
