This is the first time that we've reviewed and interviewed an act in the same issue. First of all, The Sadies are worth far more attention than that, and secondly that's just the way it happened. You get carried away with your exuberance for the record and look down and have reviewed it, and then you run into a conversational opportunity.

The Sadies are Dallas and Travis Good, both really fine guitarists, and Dallas is also fiddle adept. Sean Dean is the upright bassist, and the interview reveals him to be the co-founder of the group, originally Dallas and Sean as a duo. Mike Belitsky sings and plays drums. Not a slacker in the pack, The Sadies put on long, blistering, ardent shows.

We've reviewed them before, and are generally way gone on this quartet. They came from punk, their familial roots are deep Canadian Country. Their dad and two uncles are The Good Brothers, just inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame. The band is also deeply into instrumental composition and performance that leans convincingly into psychedelia, surf, bluegrass, and more. Favourite Colours conjures ambiences that immediately stand the quartet out into the world class realm. Conversely, this record is the singingest of their discs so far, and we hope to hear ever more of the same, since they do the hell out of it.

Their vampirical cowboy look cannot be beat, and they're superb dour showmen. We cover some of their priceless shtick in our two reviews, so be sure to check those out [here, and here]. And do not miss The Sadies when they come to your town, they put a lot of things in a different perspective.

I caught Dallas in the country and Travis in Toronto. They were each a real pleasure to talk to, and completely different. I've said it before, but there's something very inspiring about the Canadian musicians we've had the pleasure to interview. To our way of thinking, they're more right-sized, more music for it's own sake oriented, and they've got a sharp work ethic. And in both Canadian groups featured this month, the greatness of the music speaks for itself. Get into The Sadies, they're worth the trip. Be sure to sample the clips on the Listen page, break out the plastic and buy Favourite Colours.   continue