Canadian Musician September / October 2019 | Page 78

SHOW
CASE
If you are an unsigned Canadian artist and would like to be featured in Showcase, visit www.applyforshowcase.com. Submissions
are free - all you need is a Reverbnation account with a high-res photo. You can check out tracks from our Showcase artists at
www.canadianmusician.com/showcase.
By Ken Kelley
What:
Alternative Pop
Where:
Orangeville, ON
Visit:
www.austinstrangemusic.com
If ever there was an artist whose sound perfectly
reflected the land they called home, Alberta’s Shane
Larmand could be held up as a prime candidate.
While he certainly isn’t the first country-flavoured
artist to emerge from the province, Larmand’s songs
lean more into the typically genre-fluid Americana
than those that have come before him.
With his most recent record, 2018’s You Are My
Home, he evokes early-career Wilco on the title track
while adding a touch of the blues to songs like “Mon-
key Train” and “April on My Mind.” Overall, Larmand’s
record maintains a loose, casual feel throughout while
nicely blending various styles and keeping the depth
of his songwriting front and centre.
SHADOW OF
EVEREST
What:
Progressive Groove Metal
Where:
Halifax, NS
Visit:
www.shadowofeverest.
bandcamp.com
78 C A N A D I A N M U S I C I A N
Formed in 2014, Halifax’s Shadow of Everest
wear the influences of Black Sabbath, Tool,
and Mastodon proudly on their sleeves,
delivering refreshing, heavy riffs defined by
syncopated rhythms and dissonant tones.
In the last five years, the group has delivered
a pair of albums – 2017’s Idle Hands and this
year’s The Hunting Ground – that reinforce their
commitment to keeping it heavy. Nowhere is
this more evident than on The Hunting Ground
tracks like “The River,” the high-energy “Castle
in the Sky,” and “Fifty-Four.” Atlantic Canada has
proven itself as a fertile ground for hard rock
and heavy metal in the past, with Shadow of
Everest now confidently leading the charge
into the future.
AUSTIN
STRANGE
Ontario modern pop maestro Austin
Strange discovered his love for music at an
early age, forming an acoustic duo in 2006
before breaking out on his own for the 2010
release of his solo single, “Broken.” Following
an approximately five-year layoff, he resur-
faced in 2015 with his single “Drunk,” which
to date has racked up almost 150,000 views
on YouTube.
Partway through the summer of 2019,
Strange released his latest single, “Elevator,” a
decadent dose of enveloping, dance-ready
pop that has not only remarkably surpassed
230,000 online views, but could also stand
shoulder-to-shoulder on the charts with the
likes of fellow Canucks Shawn Mendes and
Alessia Cara.
SHANE LARMAND
What:
Americana, Roots
Where:
Saint Paul, AB
Visit:
www.shanelarmand.com