A Pale Blue was born in Alberta, and it shows. Though the band now hails from Vancouver, their music resonates the imagery of the prairies: the giant skies, the hard rolling earth, and the well-worn lives of those who live between.
Originally a solo project, A Pale Blue’s debut album, AM Gold, was conceived and recorded by lead vocalist and guitarist Brock Allen over a period of several years. An album that showcases A Pale Blue’s rugged sound, AM Gold renders the subject matter of the lyrics earnestly and with simplicity, akin to home-studio gems like The Basement Tapes, only edgier. There is little nostalgic iconography at work in AM Gold, the conventional images of life on the plains: golden grain, noble farmers, simple living, are instead replaced with depictions of burnouts, streetwalkers, and the generally doomed. However, one cannot dismiss the album as depressive, for as it is in the unforgiving landscape that the album echoes, there is always the faint inclination of hope and persistence; these may be broken characters, but they are not defeated ones.
Though Brock himself provided the majority of the instrumentation for AM Gold, with the backup stylings of Leah Abramson (Dyad), he has since joined up with keyboardist Shira Blustein (Blood Meridian), drummer Galen Rigter, guitarist Jon Reddit, and bassist Andy Bond, to form the band as it is today. While the band still retains the unpolished and gritty qualities set out in AM
Gold, the sound is now stronger, more capable and expressive. A true and honest pearl of a group.
thanks guys/gal that was rad. You were the highlight of the night for me. I would love to do another show with you guys sometime in the new year most likely.
