It's been a big year in local music, with countless new releases from newcomers and scene veterans alike. As we look back on 2022, The Coast is naming its top 10 albums of the year (in no particular order). Peep the full list here.
A group of Halifax music scenesters who also populate the lineups of other local bands, it isn’t surprising that Washing Machine carries an innate understanding of the city’s sound in its rinse cycle of refreshing indie rock. Yup, as I said in my September review of the band’s latest LP, Cheat The Pattern: “When Sloan left town for Toronto, the band didn’t pack up the city’s affinity for—or excellence at—neo-grunge and shoegaze-y post-punk. Any non-believers you encounter will soon be among the converted as they hear Washing Machine’s latest.”
A few months later and the bubble is far from bursting on this 12-track offering that brings Martha and the Muffins, Weezer and, yes, Sloan to mind in its jangly bright brand of indie. Unafraid to embody a sense of fun (like in the sparkling album opener “Misadventure”, which feels like a lost TUNS track) or skew edgier with a crunchy guitar (catchy and Kinks-y song “The Pest”), these songs are as irrepressible as a smile.
Recorded in band bassist Glen Leck’s basement and teeming with reverb, Cheat The Pattern reminds the listener that Halifax has always been a town awash with creativity. When it froths to the surface, you might just be lucky enough to get caught up in the suds.