Here at the Send Me Your Ears studio today, we’ve been listening to the latest single from Canadian band, Suburban Bicycle Gang. In The Cosmos was released on 24 February as a single and is also the title track for their upcoming album set to release this spring.
In The Cosmos is a song which explores the vastness and mystery of the cosmos. The band, Suburban Bicycle Gang, hail from Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, and have created a 70s-inspired funky rhythm and blues track that will appeal across the board to listeners of rock and blues.
The song comes straight in with a full band sound with lots of instrumentation. We spotted a lovely Hammond sound in the background, helping to make this feel very authentic. The intro leads into a guitar solo with a simple repeated line over a familiar-sounding chord progression, making the listener comfortable and at ease within the track.
When the vocals come in, they reminded us just a little of Gord Downie (Tragically Hip), and there were moments in the lead vocal that we were reminded of Bono (U2) as well. This is a very typical-sounding Canadian rhythm and blues/rock track with touches of Blue Rodeo.
There are moments in this track where it feels just a touch Doors-like, with hints of psychedelia. A wah-pedal guitar solo takes the lead at one point. It is heavily affected and almost gives an “underwater” feel to the sound.
In The Cosmos has a long-drawn-out ending with very low spoken words and interesting effects. This is a highly creative track that makes great use of a funky bass line throughout. We can imagine this would be a great track for a late-night playlist. Sitting at almost 5 minutes long, it may not fit well for commercial airplay (they can be so fussy about lengths!). Still, we do know how supportive Canadian college radio stations can be towards Canadian artists, so we’d urge the band to reach out to stations in the Waterloo area and beyond.
Ideas from our ears
We noticed that there is very little happening below around 100Hz, probably due to the recording process. This makes the track sound less full than it could be. Some low end could be achieved with a giant (20dB?) boost around 50Hz. There is a slight ‘harshness’ around 2-2.5kHz, so a cut here could help smooth out the high mids. A boost in the top 2 octaves would increase the brightness and presence too. As always, these are just some ideas from our ears.
Final thoughts
Fans of psychedelia, rhythm and blues and Canadian indie rock will be drawn to Suburban Bicycle Gang’s latest single, In The Cosmos—a 70s-inspired burst of nostalgia.
https://www.suburbanbicyclegang.com/
https://www.facebook.com/suburbanbicyclegang/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/72loPmYPnHQalwgqabOMsP?si=5LWnmx3RTOiiRmW4P6g2Ng
https://twitter.com/bicyclegang