"Anyone who considers the Beauties "just a bar band" will be pleasantly surprised by their debut album. While the Dakota favourites could easily have treated the full-length as a recorded document of their rollicking, booze-soaked live shows, they instead crafted an album of legitimately strong, diverse rock songs.

Those familiar with the band's live heroics will get satisfaction from the shout-along blues hooks of Tired Fired Blues and Die Die Die, while Hearts Are Down offers up twangy, catchy pop balladry, and a cover of Holly Golightly's Devil Do pads its populist chorus with heavy riffing and crisp production.

Not everything works, like the six-minute dirge Heaviest Of The World, but the album still proves that the Beauties have outgrown their bar-band roots." [NOW Toronto]

Known for their live show, Toronto's The Beauties are kicking off a four-week residency at nyc bar and music club Pianos in NYC tonight (3/10). The band will then play the LES venue again on the next three Thursdays. On March 31st, the final one, the Six Shooter Records-signed band will be joined by Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene who has played with them before, as you can also see in the short video below. Kevin will help them play their songs, and he will play some solo songs from Spirit If during their set as well (no separate solo set though). Chip Taylor is reportedly also confirmed for that night, and there might be more special guests, but the full lineup is still TBA.

All dates and another video is down there too...

Continue reading "Toronto's the Beauties kicking off Pianos residency (Kevin Drew will play with them at the final one)"