Canyyn Stream Self-Titled Debut in Full; Out Friday
Bluesy Chicago heavy rockers Canyyn release their self-titled debut full-length on Oct. 29. One, two, go. It doesn’t take much more than that for the three-piece of vocalist/bassist Dan Rovak, guitarist/backing vocalist Mike Fetzer and drummer Dan Schergen to establish the root of their methodology across the five songs and 36 minutes of this first album. The band put out a live two-songer late in 2019 called Live at DZ Records that featured “Bring Me Down” and “Wages of Sin,” which open the Canyyn LP in the same successive order, and they’ve been kicking dust since at least 2017, various odds, ends and jams coming and going from their Bandcamp page, along with what may or may not have been another studio EP. Lost to the ether. So it goes.
Accordingly, it’s hard to say how recent this material is, but since it was put to tape more than a year ago — imagine tracking your first record and then sitting on it for upwards of 16 months; no wonder they have the blues — maybe it doesn’t matter anyway. One only brings it up to note the fluidity of the band’s approach, with the solo-prone guitar tossing out leads to back the likewise soul-prone vocals atop swinging drums with an ideology born out of classic power trio-ism and given breadth through fullness of production and an overall modern sound. This isn’t a comparison I make lightly, and I consider it a complement, but in listening to the flowing bass and way-up-top-but-still-not-too-forward-in-the-mix shred in the second half of “Wages of Sin,” I’m reminded of erstwhile Salt Lake City desert bluesers Iota, much missed, and their 2008 outing Tales. It’s true in the lumbering midsection of “Bring Me Down” as well, psychedelia laced with a clear, heavy groove, while centerpiece “Crush Your Bones” takes a more swaggering approach to fuzz riffing, Clutch-style or a less-gritty Egypt for those who’d dig deep. In any case, what Canyyn are doing, if ultimately familiar, works.
The groove continues to be paramount in “In Deep Water,” but the priority is subtly shifting, and 
with Schergen‘s insistent push behind the chugging verse, the band would’ve been well within their rights to call the song ‘In Deep Space’ instead, lyrics notwithstanding. As in “Bring Me Down,” Canyyn show their propensity and marked potential for shoving outward from their bluesy ground floor. Guitar, bass, drums and vocals are similarly aligned in their purpose, and the sound is righteous and complete across the five-plus minutes, but it’s a definite, purposeful shift between “Crush Your Bones” and “In Deep Water,” even if it’s also true that deep water can crush your bones. That makes closer “Through the Leaves” — also the longest inclusion at 9:21 — an intriguing proposition. Because where are they going to end up after setting forth on this voyage, or, if you want to look at the cover art, on this multi-hued winged flight?
Well of course they’re gonna jam. How could they not? And further, why would they not? The early verses of the finale, with the repetitions of “calling me,” take my ’90s-child ears back to Nine Inch Nails covering Joy Division‘s “Dead Souls” on the soundtrack to The Crow, but I’ll go ahead and chalk that up to sonic coincidence rather than something purposeful on the part of Canyyn. They wrap the structure up neatly and from about five minutes on let it roll as it will, moving into a heavier procession as they go — some ace bass work circa eight minutes in running alongside the guitar; more please — and to their credit, they bring all that improvised-sounding solo work to a head around some intentional crashes to end, doing more for the song than just completely giving it over until it falls apart, showing respect for their material that suits the performances well. Nothing here is purposefully sloppy, nothing overplayed for what it is, nothing out of place, nothing too perfect. They cap “Through the Leaves” in a way that emphasizes the balance in their style, and more, they make it sound like that’s just the way it worked out in the studio that day. Right on.
A debut of note for those with a mind to note it. I don’t know to what it’ll lead or may have already led to in terms of their songwriting, but Canyyn have set a strong standard for themselves with these tracks and if they can continue along this path, it’ll be as much to their listeners’ benefit as to their style itself. I say again: Right on.
Full album is streaming below, followed by a few words from the band and credits.
Enjoy:
Mike Fetzer on Canyyn:
Thank you for the immensity of support we’ve received about this record so far. We’re just three guys from Chicago trying to make rock and roll music and it’s truly humbling to be so well received already without the album even being out. Enjoy 36 minutes of rock ‘n’ roll firepower on us!
Canyyn’s First Long Play Record
Recorded at Bricktop Recording Chicago in August 2020
Produced by Canyyn and Paul Aluculesei
Mixed by Paul Aluculesei and Mike Fetzer
Mastered by Carl Saff
Art By Jocelyn Wayer
Logo by Steven Yoyada
Canyyn are:
Dan Rovak – Vocals and Bass
Mike Fetzer – Guitars, Backing Vocals
Dan Schergen – Drums
