Joel Turcotte has served as Catbamboo‘s touring drummer for roughly a year now, and we’ve heard him in the studio a couple times as well. But last week, we got to do it twice. In an extraordinary display of power, Joel Turcotte dropped a pair of bangers on us without so much as a warning.
Let’s start with Catbamboo. “Next” nails all the proper buzzwords you’d be looking for in the band’s latest single. It’s driving, it’s pulsing, it’s got all those nice little embellished seventh chord progressions… you know the ones. It’s also a little bit reserved; Catbamboo is known to throw around a riff or two, with Ky and Colin alternating shreddilicious takes on “Afflicted” and “Crave.” But we get to enjoy the fantastic addition of the band’s new bass player Ausha Smyth. Check it out below.
It’s great to hear it all come together for the band on a sonic level. The production seems balanced, everybody shines through on the mix, and the band’s groove has never been stronger. Also we love that little moment with the phaser.
But let’s not forget Joel Turcotte and his EP. Thus far, we’ve seen total competence from Joel with Catbamboo. He’s never played anything we didn’t like, and his parts fit the songs pretty much perfectly in that Forrest Rice or Devin Grieg kind of way. So we were blown away by the breadth of dynamic shown in To Watch You Blossom, his new (and from what we can tell, first?) solo EP.
It’s an otherworldly experience when listened to front to back, and we highly recommend it if you’re looking for something space-y and emotional with a diverse palette of styles throughout. Catbamboo co-shredder Collin Smith shows up towards the end of the title track for a tasty guitar solo, but otherwise, guitars are actually the most grounding thing about the EP. Everything else carries a sense of aural illusion to it, allowing for some listener interpretation, but also perhaps giving us an intimate look at the player behind all those chops.
Check out the new Catbamboo here, and experience the world of Joel Turcotte on his Spotify account.