advertisement
FYI

The Avulsions: The End

This post-punk combo from Saskatoon recently announced signing to Calgary-based label Flemish Eye. This dark yet bracing debut single features crunching guitars, jackhammer percussion, and the icy vocals of lyricist Samantha Renner.

The Avulsions: The End

By Kerry Doole

The Avulsions - "The End" (Flemish Eye): This post-punk combo from Saskatoon recently announced it had signed to Calgary-based label Flemish Eye, home of Chad VanGaalen and Preoccupations. A debut album, Expanding Program, is scheduled for a March 16 release, and this first single is a highly promising beginning.


It features crunching guitars and jackhammer percussion underpinning the moody and icy cool vocals of Samantha Renner, while her dark lyrics and the title of "The End" reportedly reflect the uneasy and dystopian feel of the upcoming album. It was recorded over the space of a year in the synth-filled home studio of group member Josh Rohs, with mastering by Harris Newman (Wolf Parade, Ought, Godspeed You! Black Emperor).

advertisement

The classically-trained Renner formerly fronted the band Phalec Baldwin, and hosting a weekly radio show helped shape her art-rock and post-punk leanings. She is indisputably a force to be reckoned with.

The Avulsions have already had an impact through appearances at such noted festivals as Sled Island, Halifax Pop Explosion, and England's The Great Escape.

Daryl Weeks at Stage Fright Publicity is handling press.

advertisement
Val Blavatnik
Courtesy WMG

Val Blavatnik

Business News

Val Blavatnik to Oversee Warner Music Canada in New Role at Warner Music Group

Blavatnik will oversee Warner Music Canada as managing director of Warner Music North America, U.K. and Corporate Development at WMG. As part of a slew of executive announcements, Simon Robson will be leaving the company, while Alejandro Duque takes the top international role.

Val Blavatnik, the 28-year-old son of Warner Music Group majority owner and vice chairman Len Blavatnik, has been named managing director of Warner Music North America, U.K. and Corporate Development at the Warner Music Group, the company announced Friday (Sept. 25). In his new role the younger Blavatnik, who has held several roles at the company in recent years, and has been a board member since 2023, expects to “unify and drive business and operational strategy across these markets while guiding the company’s investment strategy to support growth,” according to a press release.

The Blavatnik announcement is part of a flurry of new executive announcements that CEO Robert Kyncl made this morning. In addition, Atlantic Music Group chairman/CEO Elliot Grainge will take on ADA in the U.S. as its new chairman, while Alejandro Duque, who has held the dual roles of president of Warner Latin and president of ADA since last July, has been named president of Warner Music International, adding Asia-Pacific and Europe, the Middle East and Africa under his oversight. (Duque will continue to oversee ADA outside the U.S.) Zach Friedman, currently COO at Atlantic Music Group, will add the title of vice chair of ADA U.S. to his resume.

keep readingShow less
advertisement