Status: Single
City: Toronto
State: Ontario
Country: CA
Signup Date: 8/31/2005
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Thursday, September 10, 2009
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Category: Music
Toronto shoegaze-garage darlings The Disraelis go about things in a meticulous way. They’ve been active for three years but have released just one EP, 2008’s Demonstration (Optical Sounds). Vocalist/bassist Cameron Jingles, guitarist Colin Belfast and drummer Dave Barnes pride themselves on having developed a driving, multi-textured psych-rock sound through relentless gigging and self-criticism. “We like to take our time,” says Jingles from his casino day job. “We craft our songs carefully and try to be as good as the bands we grew up listening to.” When you know that those influences include the Smiths, Stone Roses and New Order, it becomes clear just how ambitious the Disraelis are. Currently in the studio recording material for a forthcoming Optical Sounds compilation while also putting together another EP, the group is hitting its stride. “Now more than ever, we sound like the Disraelis,” says Jingles. “I’m kind of glad we’ve only put out the one EP, because we really just have this one [refined] sound recorded.”,,  NOW | September 9-16, 2009 | VOL 29 NO 2 Copyright 2009 NOW CommunicationsGO TO MUSIC
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Wednesday, April 01, 2009
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The Disraelis Toronto ON, March 11 to 14 By Scott Tavener
When nu-gaze displaced post-punk revival as the faux-genre du jour (you didn't know?), someone thankfully forgot to tell the Disraelis. Taut and serious, the trio's late Silver Dollar show evoked a range of well-dressed heavy-hitters, like the Fall and Chameleons, while touching on the Cure (see the jangly guitar on "Distance") and even Psychedelic Furs (see "In Memory"). However, tempering the gravitas with occasional jaunty bass lines or danceable breakdowns, they created a fresh concoction that embraced its influences without ironically winking at or outright parroting them. And for that they scored a deserving though rare CMW encore.
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Monday, March 16, 2009
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The Disraelis Demonstration Optical Sound
Over this last year a re-emergence of shoegaze has become unmistakably identifiable on the landscape of indie rock. Though new methods of achieving this gauzy atmosphere have developed, the most common still remains as the tried and true dominion of digital delay. On their Demonstration EP Toronto's Disraelis make full use of this technique and come up with results as solid as shoegaze itself is amorphous. "I feel so young inside" sings bassist/vocalist Cameron Ingles on opening track "The Bitter Ash" and it sounds like nothing could be further from the truth. Choosing a disheveled swagger as his aesthetic, Ingles steers Demonstration away from the blissed-out innocence typically found in shoegaze's faceless delivery. Guitarist Colin Bowers works to reinforce this with a choice of picked notes instead of strumming's blurry sonic sea and it quickly becomes clear that this is a song dressed in a texture; not texture dressed up as a song. This working method makes itself apparent on all of Demonstration's five tracks and the drumming of David Barnes is no exception. By avoiding any abstract, free-form explorations Barnes' straight-ahead playing keeps everything moving forward and away from the shapeless drift of more definitive shoegaze. In this regard The Disraelis could almost be classified as a somewhat melancholy Brit-Rock group having a strong penchant for digital delay pedals. Taken as a whole, Demonstration offers a strong set of songs differing little from track to track. Although "In Memory" follows opener "The Bitter Ash" with a much lighter, optimistic tone, and fourth cut "Distance" reels in the ghosts of Steve Lillywhite-era U2, the EP's five songs cover little territory; none of which is uncharted. To deliver such evenly measured doses of a proven idiom is no crime, but ideally The Disraelis can push into more dynamic realms on future releases. Perhaps such an evolution would naturally develop on a full length. Here's hoping. By Bruno Mazzotta Feb 2, 2009
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Tuesday, January 13, 2009
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The Scene- Shows that rocked Toronto last week Wed, Dec 31 OPTICAL SOUNDS NYE PARTY at St. Stephen-in-the-Fields Rating: NNNN This past year saw the birth of the Optical Sounds imprint as well as the label’s quick rise to the forefront of Toronto’s Brit/shoegaze/psychedelic scene. Local signees the Disraelis and the Hoa Hoa’s released great records on OS, and this party inside historic St. Stephen’s Church was a chance to catch both bands in grandiose style. While old films screened on a massive exposed-brick wall, the Disraelis hammered out a solid set of moody, retro-sounding guitar rock that included tunes from their Demonstration EP, plus a very promising new song. The Hoa Hoa’s – whose Sonic Bloom LP was one of T.O.’s best psych records of 08 – showed off a developing penchant for more accessible songwriting. Their too-short set drew in a large peacoat-wearing congregation. Totally Wired DJs punctuated the countdown to 2009 with floor-filling Happy Mondays, New Order and Cut Copy tracks. Label head Robert Gibson says to watch out for a new Hoa Hoa’s LP in 2009 as well as singles from the Disraelis. The two bands will also tour together, playing parties at SXSW and dates in the UK and Holland.
-Jordan Bimm
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Tuesday, August 26, 2008
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myspace :: buy from zuniorOn the surface, The Disraelis seem like a band I should hate - and to be fair, I'm sure some will. The name (which is taken from the founder of the British Conservative Party), the look, the faux-anglo vocals; they sort of remind you of that dude in high school that used Brit slang and had girls following him around the halls. Like that guy, the band oozes confidence and the thing is, the music scene needs a few more bands like The Disraelis. Now, I've never met the guys - and they could be the nicest blokes in the world - but on first glance, they give off that vibe of a cock sure outfit that would walk past a fan looking for an autograph, refusing to piss on someone who was on fire and really, thank god. In an time where delicate lap steep is tucked in every crevice and polite enough for afternoon tea collectives soak up the limelight using instruments like the glockenspiel, omnichord and ukulele, more big reverbed-soaked, shimmering guitar lines and some attitude are what this party needs. And to be completely fair to this Toronto based band, they actually strip out all of the bullshit, refusing to let a banged out synth line be the vital player in their post-punk/shoegaze anthems. Thanks in large to Cameron's deadpanned, melancholic delivery, Mike's straight ahead drumming and Colin's Smiths/Stone Roses influenced guitar style, they forge a melodic sound with just the right amount of psychedelic haze to thicken up the mix. Demonstration could have taken decades to make; the lush tones, perfect drum sound and a gritty haze that is often lost in today's world sound terrific, but the 5-songs never seem over polished. At times, you'd swear there are three guitarists crammed into the booth, but if you listen close, you realize they never lose the clarity of the three instruments or clutter up the sound with superfluous textures and elements. The Bitter Ash opens up with Colin's simple guitar work, but the drum, bass and vocals come in quickly. What makes the track is the way Cameron's vocals trail off at the end of each line, almost like he doesn't care enough to finish them off. The next four songs follow suit with equally successful results (although none of the songs blend into the sames-y routine that sinks a lot of new shoegaze acts), the standout being the chaotic Distance - a track that bubbles over and lets the band surge forward, thanks in large part to some backing vocals and Barnes attacking the skins. Demonstration lets you know that this trio is on the right path and thought they aren't all the way there yet, when they get there this band could be huge.
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Thursday, August 14, 2008
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THE DISRAELIS - Demonstration (Optical Sounds) Benjamin Disraeli was, among many other things, the British Prime Minister responsible for the creation of the modern Conservative Party in 1846. Whether or not The Disraelis know the history of the influential man with whom they share a name, the tribute illustrates where this Toronto trio see themselves on a geographic plane. The Disraelis relish in British post-punk evocative of The Smiths on this five song EP, but their tendency to wander into the shimmering realm of shoegaze brings Creation bands to mind. Behind a curtain of reverb, singer/bassist Cameron Ingles mutters with a British inflection that might be convincing enough to trick Morrissey himself, while Colin Bower layers on guitar that's simultaneously hushed with sadness and glistening with hope. While their low-fi aesthetic accurately conveys the music to which they are indebted, I can't help but feel the sound they're striving to achieve lies somewhere beyond the spatial and somewhere behind the temporal realms in which they are currently residing. -Zach Vitiello
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Tuesday, July 22, 2008
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By: Kristen Chamberlain
A celebration of album releases from local bands the Disraelis and the Hoa Hoa's was in full effect last night at Sneaky Dee's with balloons, a disco ball and a lively crowd in tow.
First on stage just after 11 p.m. were the Disraelis, a three-piece band that seems comfortable in front of a crowd and displays a confidence while playing that surely comes from time and effort put into perfecting their art.
On stage, lead singer and bassist Cameron Ingles represents a happy medium somewhere between an angrier Matthew Caws and a kinder Noel Gallagher, and proves that a good performance doesn't have to include jumping around the stage like a four year old in a McDonald's Play Place. Instead, Ingles never ventures far from the microphone and stares at the side of the stage in a somewhat detached manner as his low dry voice projects through the venue. The band changed their tempo and mood many times throughout the set, and the audience, consisting of head nodders, dancers and even air guitarists, seemed to get more and more enthralled by the performance with every song.
The Disraelis' sound is not easy to describe, and it surely deserves more than a simple placement in the "shoegaze" genre. The songs are far from catchy or mainstream but I doubt that was ever their intention. You could easily get hooked on this band if you were to stumble upon them in the right place at the right time.
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Thursday, July 17, 2008
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Disc Review
THE DISRAELIS NNNN Demonstration (Optical Sounds) Jordan Bimm
This first EP from Toronto's most melodic anglophiles effectively answers the speculative alt-history question: what would a synth-less New Order have sounded like? Their sound is rooted in 80s post-punk guitar rock, and the track In Memory definitely sounds like a heartfelt update of Regret.
The trio's strength is their lo-fi authenticity, and some instantly catchy bittersweet guitar melodies – the kind that would make Robert Smith proud – recur throughout the disc's five solid tracks. Brimming with potential, the Disraelis also incorporate elements of shoegaze on standout song The Bitter Ash and display some psychedelic tendencies on Distance.
A local band to watch.
NOW | July 17-24, 2008 | VOL 27 NO 46
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Thursday, July 10, 2008
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The Disraelis - DemonstrationBY STUART BERMAN THE DISRAELIS PLAY SNEAKY DEE'S (431 COLLEGE) WITH THE HOA-HOAS JULY 12. This local trio wear their sunglasses at night, not simply to look cool (though, hey, it never hurts) but to make a dark world look even darker. Though Demonstration's Smiths-aping cover art makes their allegiances plain, The Disraelis expand outward from their '80s mope-pop base to absorb the genre's post-punk past and shoegazer future. Like his buddy Anton Newcombe (The Brian Jonestown Massacre), bassist Cameron Ingles sing-speaks in a dry-icy, faux-Brit brogue that exudes intensity and aloofness in equal measure, but Colin Bowers' shimmering Johnny Marr guitar supplies the yearning that Ingles can't always bring himself to express (most palpably on the winsome jingle-jangle of "In Memory" and sinister rock-out "Distance"). To a younger Britpop generation beholden to the pub-rock slop of The Libertines, The Disraelis will seem anachronistically austere, but then that's sort of the point: to get back to a time when a band's mystique wasn't pissed away by mugging for the tabloids.
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Tuesday, July 08, 2008
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NXNE 2008: The Disraelis @ The Silver Dollar
By: Carl Gouldson
The Disraelis live up to the hype and convert some new fans @ the Silver Dollar
The Disraelis carved out their corner of the North By Northeast's opening night as one of few groups in the festival who come off as established pros, those who take you infinitely more seriously than they take themselves.
The sophisticated Brit-pop three-piece sounded like there were more of them. The keep-up falls on the shoulders of singer/bassist, Cameron Jingles, whose vocals fall somewhere between the careless inhibition of grunge and those of Adam Sandler in The Wedding Singer. The live show emanates energy, and in much abundance in the case of drummer, Dave Barnes - who is a consistent and creative mash-up, which he plays up as much as the genre allows.
They don't branch out much from their unique pop-ish niche, but never suggest any real reason why they should. Guitarist Colin Belfast is given free reign to travel the fret board through most numbers, adding accents and peaks peppered throughout his dominantly backup roll. Surrounded on the bill by more than a few acts who milked the mercy applause, they were certainly the act on the night the Silver Dollar would have bid for sans festival.
Their older stuff showcases more depth than that which made it onto their April EP release, Demonstration, but the response to it was about the same. Plagued by shifty sound levels all night, the Toronto natives not only provoked the festivals first impromptu jitterbug session (and only one, God willing), but also lived up to hype that built around them at the festival last year.
Photo: David MacIntyre
Photo: David MacIntyre
Photo: David MacIntyre
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