Thursday, December 27, 2012

Shanies: Artist of the Year


This award is always a bit tricky in terms of being able to differentiate it from other awards and define exactly what makes a winner. If I look on past examples (Foo Fighters, The Black Keys), it would appear that this award is designed to recognize hard working bands that have poured their blood, sweat and tears into their music for the past 12 months.


As such, my unquestionable pick for this award is Indian Handcrafts. After riding the success of their epic, independantly released freshman album in the local scene, IH decided that 2012 was going to be their year to step to the plate. Recording their first label release, Civil Disobedience for Losers, under Sargent House and with members of Big Business and The Melvins, one could quickly tell that this was a band that had no intention of staying local/indie – Barrie simply wasn’t big enough for their sound. Getting opening slots with the likes of Red Fang and Billy Talent, it very quickly became apparent that hard work pays off and for IH 2012 could be just the beginning.

Honourable mention goes to riff kings Monster Truck – who also had a phenomenal year and who I’ll be keeping a very close eye on in 2013.



-Promise me you'll feel how I feel, or at least that you'll try