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).

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.