I have next to no information about Toronto weirdo outfit Godstopper. There’s a quizzical Tumblr page with some pictures and clips, a Bandcamp site (so we can deduce they’re at the forefront of musical social networking), but no bio, lineup info or any of that kind of thing. Given the strangeness of the avant garde doom they get up to on their aptly-titled Demo 2010, I think that’s probably for the best. Keep a little mystique about them. Better than picturing a bunch of dudes with beards in black t-shirts and their hands in their pockets.

There are three tracks on Godstopper‘s Demo 2010, and what rings true in each of them is that the band have a keen melodic sense to what they do. It comes out in the mix-dominating guitar on “Clean House,” and some of vocals of “Don’t Walk Home.” Godstopper manage to keep a balance between quirkiness and hooky accessibility that keeps you wanting to hear more. Even if you don’t like it, you want to sit through it and see where it goes.

The Yawning Man-style guitar tone of short instrumental “SAARENTTO” round out the 7″-length release, and though it’s just about 15 minutes long, Demo 2010 holds much promise for oddities to come. It will be interesting to hear whether Godstopper stay more or less in the same vein of experimentation, go even further into dissonance or start upping the melody and blending it with Melvins-style plod. Judging by the three cuts on Demo 2010 (which you can hear below), they could really go any way they please.

Tags: Canada, Godstopper, Toronto, Unsigned bands

This entry was posted on Friday, November 26th, 2010 at 3:00 pm and is filed under On the Radar. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.