Artist: Royal Canoe, Album: Co-op Mode, Song: I Can't Lie Down

Royal Canoe is a rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba.  They are the second of two bands that were spawned from the demise of The Waking Eyes.  The first, Imaginary Cities (see blog 6/6/11), featured Rusty Matyas.  This time around, the focus is on his former band mate, Matt Peters.  Unfortunately, the history books are filled with great bands that were under appreciated and The Waking Eyes would fit into that category.  Whether it was psychedelia, garage rock or orchestral pop, these guys perfected it with each of their unique genre bending albums.  Perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise then that two of Canada's most exciting new acts shared such a beginning.  For The Waking Eyes, their most notable release was, of course, Video Sound, in 2004, which was a straight ahead rock album that also garnered the group a Juno nomination for New Group Of The Year in 2005.  Fast forward one year and that's when Matt decided to piece together the songs that comprise this Royal Canoe debut, entitled, Co-op Mode, with some local area musicians.  He wouldn't actually form the band, Royal Canoe, play live or release this album until 2009, following the demise of The Waking Eyes.  The band is now completing the finishing touches on their sophomore release which is completely different from their debut (now technically five years old!) and you can check out some of their new singles at http://soundcloud.com/.  There are a lot of similarities that can be drawn between their debut album and the final Waking Eyes release in 2008.  Likely because Matt was contributing music to both projects at the same time.  Their debut is full of great songs that are experimental yet pop sensible. The track, I Can't Lie Down, is a highlight from this album and you can check it out on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAQPJpK61qY&feature=channel_video_title).  You can purchase Co-op Mode, on Itunes.  You can also watch a video for one of the band's new tracks on You Tube, entitled, Nightcrawlin' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHzYZyZyKQ0).  Royal Canoe are currently touring Western Canada and you can keep tabs on them at http://headinthesand.ca/royalcanoe/.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!