CURSED ARROWS: August 2011

Download a live acoustic version of King's Crossing.

Performed in April 2011 at CKDU Halifax in the Bourbon Jungle.

Biography

Cursed Arrows are a pair of odd siblings disguised as a married couple. The duo met in 2003 at an all-ages punk show. Disgruntled writer and groupie Jack e locked eyes with post-punk guitarist Ry n (former member of indie rock outfit The Vermicious Knid) from across a sweaty room, and so began a partnership to end them all. Do or die. Start over. Too misguided. Two misunderstood. Together. For good.

Co-songwriters Ry n and Jack e are art-school and high-school dropouts respectively. After breathlessly bonding over a shared love of late 80’s punk and noise rock and good clean rock and roll, they packed up and left town together. Their commitment to creating a shared life of art and music ever since has near-bankrupted them both. Day jobs are short-lived in the face of art - in a sea of ink, paint, and guitar strings.

Never ones to be part of any particular scene, they create their own wherever they go. This duo cannot - or will not - settle. They moved to the seaside in 2010 to focus on mental recuperation, writing and recording, but the road – the city at night – wags its dirty fingers. It beckons. The glow of the stage lights haunts their lucid dreams. The land across the sea says, “Come on over here!” And they listen. This all adds fuel to the flame, keeps their blood racing and their minds reeling.

Officially formed in 2006, Cursed Arrows been slow-touring small night clubs and seething all-ages venues in Eastern Canada ever since. They've recorded three full-length albums, a cassette single, an EP, and a half-dozen or so no-budget music videos. Like so many bands they know, their songs are played and chart consistently on national and campus radio – but that is not their concern. They’d rather keep their hearts on the road, rolling downhill without brakes or mirrors. Unlike so many they admire, they have no manager or booking agent. No merch girl, roadies, or tour bus. They squeeze their instruments into a small hatchback and trust that their music will take them far away from here, because if it doesn’t, then surely something else will.

On the heels of 2011’s Death Rattle Blues cassette and The Madness of Crowds full-length, comes Skin Behind The Shroud. November 11, 2011 marks the release of the duo's latest 6-song EP, which suffered a few scars and setbacks due to crashing computers and a lack of sound mind. The 23-minute digital EP, also available on cassette, offers a sun-soaked sonic motorcycle ride across the ever-growing psychic terrain of Cursed Arrows.

Reviews

"Over 10 songs, the husband/wife duo run through a score of early 90s reference points – a hint of Pixies, a dash of Melvins, a heavy dollop of Nirvana – but sound surprisingly fresh in the process. Alternating between beautifully sinister power chords and nuanced rhythm patterns, the album squeezes ample variety from just two instruments."
~NOW Magazine (Canada)

"A name tweak and a shot of adrenaline are welcome in the second offering from one of Canada's best fresh rock bands...Sludgy slabs of dissonant, augmented power chords lead a blazing charge of pummelling drum work and vocal harmonies threatening to tear with passion with each climax."
~Exclaim! (Canada)

"Following the White Stripes’ recent break up, a sizable drum-and-guitar shaped hole was left in the dirty blues scene. That hole can now be filled by Halifax’s Cursed Arrows."

~Discorder Magazine (Canada)

"If you don’t agree, then I will fight you. It’s that good. There are two of them. A lad and a lass, and they are an utterly joyous duo of fuzzy post-grunge indie-rock babbling. The drums are woolly and boomy, and the guitar is earthy. They both sing, and when they sing together, hearts will melt."
~Collective Zine (UK)

"Run Forever manages to encompass the stoned-groove of Z-era My Morning Jacket with the legitimate fury of the White Stripes, while still adding a remarkably adept coat of Canadian paint on. "
~PopMatters (US)

"Reading their bio names like Nirvana, The Pixies, Pavement and The Melvins were name dropped. Quite the list to include in your bio, and while they themselves did not draw these connections, the comparisons were made never-the-less. By the time I had reached out and pressed play, I am not sure what I had built this band up to sound like. I was certain that I would not like them. I had built the two member's up to a couple of pretentious, minimalist rock-snobs with a Cobain fetish.It was around this point that I started the lead-off track "Run Forever". The drums kicked in and I suddenly realized how wrong I was. The music was good. Really good actually. It didn't feel like a chore listening to it at all. I really, really wanted to find a fault."-!earshot (Canada)

"Imagine a marvelous song structure combination between Nirvana and The Melvins, the stoney trips of The Flaming Lips, the heaviness of Black Sabbath, the voice of legendary Wendy O. Williams mutated with the L7 lead singer Donita Sparks, powerful, groovy drumming & scratchy, phenomenal, well executed guitar riffs that will get stuck in your mind & you get Cursed Arrows."
~Heavy Stoned and Doomed (Puerto Rico)

"Run Forever comes out swinging like an underdog heavyweight fighter, knowing there is only one chance to grab the spotlight and like Little Mac they shock us all and connect square on the jaw. "
~Herohill (Canada)

"The stops and starts that occur all over the place on this record are pulled off with precision, think Bad Brains precision - this isn't some sloppy dick-off afternoon project passed off as noise rock or anything like that. Cursed Arrows are tight and the record sounds great."
~Sound Design and Assembly (US)

"(Telepathic High Five) carries forward their sound, which condenses nearly every important ’90s alt-rock touchstone into sharp blasts of post-grunge fury."
~The Record (Canada)

CURSED ARROWS

Cursed Arrows

Monday, August 29, 2011

Watch: Chop You Up / Poisonbelly Live 2008

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Watch: "Not The End" Live Acoustic

Friday, August 12, 2011

Watch: Heart Shaped Box (Nirvana cover)

Thursday, August 4, 2011

King's Crossing (Elliott Smith cover)

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Pissing In A River (Patti Smith cover)

2012 Upcoming Shows

Biography

Cursed Arrows Elsewhere

"The Madness Of Crowds"

Recent Press

Old News

Tangible Music

Reviews