Straight from the Heartland
posted in: Artist Features • Rock
They may want to check the date on their ticket stubs: Chasing Canadia
There comes a point in listening to Chasing Canadia when you start to suspect that they may be a little too squeaky clean. Maybe it’s that their bio speaks of deep friendships and trust bonds. Maybe it’s that the chorus to one of their songs is, I find the good of the world in you / And you bring out the best in me. But, just as your cynical soul is crying out for you to abort, singer Christina Harlow opens the next track by blurting out F**k you and all your friends. Ah, relief.
Chasing Canadia spins pop-punk confection with blasts of vinegar. The Indiana five-piece bears more than just a passing resemblance to Paramore, mostly due to Harlow’s eerily similar vocals and looks. On When the Good Stays In, she declares 2009 was mine, as wiry guitars stutter and pulse and the drum kit gets a sound beating. The acoustic ballad Tides reveals not only the band’s softer side, but some wiser lyrical content. It occurred to me that the reason I set sea / Is cause sometimes I have to hurt to feel relief. Maybe there’s nothing revolutionary about the music, but a hook’s a hook, and Chasing Canadia’s guitar-driven melodies have plenty of them. Let’s hope 2010 is theirs as well.
