Wares - Survival (LP)

Second LP from Edmonton based Wares. Few albums combine raw vulnerability with shredding solos as seamlessly as Wares' Survival. On her first release for Mint Records, Edmonton's Cassia Hardy blazes through riff-wielding indie-rock symphonies for anyone striving to stay alive and create a brighter future. By sharing her own journey towards hope, she hopes to light a path for anyone lost in the dark. As Hardy explains in its liner notes, this record is dedicated to decolonial activists, anti-fascist agitators, and prairie queers fighting for community and a better life. Previous Wares releases have flickered with a slow burn, yet Survival lights the fuse from ominous to explosive in its first 60 seconds. This change in mood can be credited in part to the past year of touring across Canada with the stalwart live band of keyboardist Jamie McLean, bassist Matthew Gooding, and drummer Holly Greaves, who also perform throughout the album. Their arrangements are meticulous, while Hardy's production refine these songs into crystalline clarity. The passion in Hardy's voice is unmistakable, as it becomes clear these songs are literally about life and death. The feverish riffs of Hands, Skin opens the album with her account of an assault, before the elegantly swaying sound of Tall Girl describes Hardy's isolation from a kindred spirit in its powerfully plainspoken refrain: I regret not getting to know you better. Hardy's dramatically enunciated vocal delivery has earned comparisons to Destroyer's Dan Bejar, but she draws more inspiration from alt country outsider Neko Case and cult Albertan queer-punk group Fist City. Her sonic imagination travels far beyond overdriven shredding, from the swooning acoustic guitars of Jenny Says to the sunny organ-rock of Surface World.