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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).

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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.

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Not By Choice on MuchOnDemand on MuchMusic in 2002.
Courtesy Photo

Not By Choice on MuchOnDemand on MuchMusic in 2002.

FYI

Obituary: Mike Bilcox of Ajax, Ontario Pop-Punk Band Not By Choice

Former drummer and now head of Round One Sports & Entertainment Liam Killeen pens this tribute to his former bandmate, with words from The Feldman Agency's Jeff Craib, Sum 41's Dave Baksh, Simple Plan's Chuck Comeau and more.

Mike Bilcox, lead singer and guitarist of Ajax, Ontario’s second most famous pop-punk band, Not By Choice, passed away on June 21, at age 48.

Mike started Not By Choice with his Ajax High School friend Glenn ‘Chico’ Dunning back in 1997. They had initially played a few shows under different names that may or may not be suitable for print, but our moniker came from Mike bothering his younger sister Chrissy at the dinner table. When she couldn’t take any more of his taunting, she promptly told her Mom, Pat, that he was annoying her – Pat yelled ‘Well, he’s your brother!’ to which Chrissy quickly replied ‘Yeah, not by choice!’. With that, a real band was born.

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