Finderskeepers!

After undergoing months of exhausting research and boldly applying several advanced mathematical formulas, I have determined that there are currently over 10,000 great bands in Ottawa. I know what you're thinking. Isn't that estimate kind of low? Perhaps. I will check the data again in another week.

The latest Ottawa band on my radar is Finderskeepers. Their new 7" is called Pack Your Bags, and it's one of the best EPs I've heard so far in 2014. Finderskeepers fit in pretty well with the whole garage/power pop/punk thing that's so hot in their hometown. Yet at the same time, they have their own sound. They play fast, hard-edged punk songs with tons of melody and gruff, impassioned vocals. Their recordings possess a rawness that will attract the "garage" crowd, but really they just come off as straight-up punk rock. I hear echoes of both classic punk/hardcore acts (Zero Boys, Wipers, early Husker Du) and more contemporary standard-bearers of melodic punk (Dillinger Four/Jawbreaker). Yet I don't get the sense that they're trying to sound like any of those bands. Every song clocks in right around two minutes, and from start to finish the material is damn solid. Opener "It Could All End Tonight" is pretty much the epitome of a sing-along anthem, while the title track sounds like something from the heyday of Naked Raygun. And "Push" has to be the ballsiest pop-punk song I've heard in years! Check out a free stream over at Finderskeepers' Bandcamp page. If you like what you hear, grab yourself a marbled vinyl copy while supplies last!



-L.R.

http://finderskeepersband.bandcamp.com/ 
https://www.facebook.com/fkottawa