Elliott BROOD | Starfish Entertainment

Elliott BROOD

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“Doing it the hard way for 20 years,” is a badge Elliott BROOD wear with honour. Two decades on, work, life and love have taken the trio in many directions, away from their hometowns and headfirst into an ongoing musical journey through distance and time. Now, after being members of this band for nearly half of their lives, Elliott BROOD is never more at home than in the wash of distorted, evocative strings and stomps that make their signature alt country sound. With smile lines and guitar fingers long hardened with callouses, Elliott BROOD has been doing it the hard way, but making it sound easy.

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Bio

On their new album, Town, Elliott BROOD journey through familiar haunts and charge down new paths, all in the name of growth, love and family. Overall, Town speaks to the experiences of being away, of missing loved ones, of facing mistakes and reconciling consequences. Part one of a two-album cycle, Town and Country, Elliott BROOD’s Town also speaks to joy, appreciation of where they come from and to the kind of people they’ve become.

Elliott BROOD appeared on the cover of Exclaim Magazine in 2008 as the new ambassadors of a roots, folk rock and alt country wave that flourished in Toronto’s early aughts. Elliott BROOD’s arrival came with a level of buzz that launched them directly into the heart of a vibrant Toronto scene that centered at label Six Shooter Records, where they have returned to release their newest music. Their live show, a maelstrom of frenetic energy and fuzz, has brought them back and forth across continents countless times on bills The Sadies, Wilco, The Black Crowes, and many more. Their albums, meticulously crafted, detail-packed collections have brought some of Canada’s highest musical honours and awards, including an early Polaris Music Prize Short List and a JUNO Award.

In their twenty years, the band has remained fiercely loyal to their mysterious namesake. The stylized, imaginary character has guided the band’s travels over mountains and meadows, and through the more harrowing sides of history. Elliott BROOD has grown into a vessel for the trio’s shared history too, with new songs finding connection and communion in themes that hit much closer to home. With smile lines and guitar fingers long hardened with callouses, Elliott BROOD has been doing it the hard way, but making it sound easy.

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Press

Winnipeg Free Press

Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023

When they’re really cooking, the guys in Elliott Brood hit these moments — their soaring voices unite in perfectly ragged harmony and the air around them thrums and vibrates as they reach a glorious crescendo. These are the sorts of sonic highs you want to hang onto forever, and Mark Sasso, Casey Laforet and Stephen Pitkin have hit upon more than their fair share of them in over 20 years of performing their unique blend of folk-ish, Americana-tinged, twangy rock ‘n’ roll.

The trio’s eighth studio recording, Town, is the first half of a two-album project, with its companion, called Country, to be released sometime in 2024 (we hope). It’s a short, sharp set — its eight songs clock in at just 26 minutes — but it contains all that fans might want.

Opening number “Rose City” is a playful ode to both the blissful days of youth and Laforet’s hometown of Windsor, ON, which rides a loping beat, doubled lead vocals and some mighty fine banjo and guitar pickin’ as Sasso, Laforet and Pitkin sing of reminiscing “about the times” while appreciating the comfort of home. “Dark End of the Road” is a mournful Americana tune about how a song can remind us of past loves, and Paper Money is a clever country weeper about a broken heart and encroaching technology.

The album’s best songs are “Evelyn”, which spins a yarn about the lonely death of an upstairs neighbour; “Stars Align”, an uptempo romp that hints at the mysterious horrors of residential schools and orphanages; and a sweet treatment of “Rise Up With Fists”, an existential lament written by Jenny Lewis.

The percussive escapism of “Dried Up” offers up this album’s crescendo moments, but it’s likely safe to say that Sasso, Laforet and Pitkin will be able to elevate all these songs in similar fashion. ★★★★

Stream these: Rose City, Evelyn, Rise Up With Fists.

– John Kendle

American Songwriter

2020’s 12 Best Indie Albums

Rarely does an album title suggest the truth in advertising that Keeper conveys with this, the seventh outing by the Canadian alt-country conglomerate that shares the name Elliott Brood. For the better part of the past 20 years, this talented trio has been making music that’s tasteful, tuneful and easy on the ear, and indeed, this latest release is no exception. These shimmering acoustic melodies are both hopeful and uplifting, a welcome respite from today’s troubled times. Various upbeat entries — “Bird Dog,” “Oh Me” and “Stay Out” — find an ideal fit with the reflective ballads “Merciless Wind” and “A Month of Sundays,” as well as with the tempered twang of “Full of Wires.” Indeed, the combination provides a reassuring sound that resonates throughout. That’s appropriate; according to the press material, the album’s overall theme revolves around “loyalty and longevity…the strength of conviction, and how that strength is tested over time.” No wonder then that the overall delivery is both buoyant and engaging, with every encounter as satisfying as the first. Consider this a keeper indeed.

– Lee Zimmerman

Great Dark Wonder

“Keeper” is an outstanding collection of songs from Elliott BROOD, and while I hate tipping my hat early, is a serious contender for my album of the year. Having kept this new album playing solidly on repeat for the last week or so, I shall succumb to the cheesy pun and state that this latest studio piece is an absolute “Keeper.”

KEXP

This Toronto trio’s seventh album is a well-crafted set of hook-filled folk-rock combining a warm sound featuring electric and acoustic guitars, keyboards and occasional mandolin, banjo and more with wistful melodies and lyrics exploring the ups and downs of relationships.

Exclaim!

Dancing between melancholy and tenderness, the hardships and blessings of long-lasting relationships, it’s like letting light pour into a dark room.

Awards:

Canadian Folk Music Awards – Ensemble of the Year – 2022
JUNO Award – Roots/Traditional Album 2013
CBC Galaxy Rising Star Award 2006

Nominations:

JUNO Award – Roots/Traditional Album x 4 nominations
JUNO Award – Album artwork
Genie Award Nomination – 2011
Polaris Short List – 2009

Charting:

#1 – Exclaim/Earshot Charts (Canada)
Achieved the No. 1 Chart Position in the folk/roots/blues category for each of their last five albums.
Top 10 – Exclaim!/Earshot Charts (Canada)
Achieved the No. 1 Chart Position in the folk/roots/blues category on all six of their releases.
Top 25 – Americana Music Album Chart (US) 
Achieved Top 25 on the Americana Music Album Chart on the folk/roots/blues category on their last two albums.

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