Selected Press for Tin Type
"Handsomely packaged in a black book-bound sleeve and sold in a brown paper bag, Elliott Brood's six-track 3-inch Tin Type CD EP amazingly turns out to be just as impressive musically as it is aesthetically. The banjo-bashing and suitcase-swatting local threesome of Casey Laforet, Mark Sasso and Stephen Pitkin howl and creak their way through an old-timey nightmare Ð a dark 'n' dirty antithesis to the namby-pamby blather coming from the current crop of alt-country cuties. A hugely promising opening shot." - Tim Perlich, NOW Toronto, 22-28 January 2003
http://www.eye.net/eye/issue/issue_02.12.04/music/ondisc.html
ELLIOTT BROOD (4 stars)
Tin Type
Weewerk
Can a banjo brood? Bleed? Toronto duo Casey Laforet and Mark Sasso wring blue moods from their main instrument on this six-song EP, artfully packaged in a tiny, handmade photo album for extra olde-tyme effect. Tunes are as heavy as a rain cloud: creaking doors and thunder surround songs of dead men and wandering souls. No drums or foot stomps, just rusty voice, guitar, banjo and the occasional synth sound. "Oh, Alberta" sticks out, a raucous ode to Canadian locales ready to slip in beside Stompin' Tom on CBC Radio from here to eternity. Otherwise, not too country: Elliott Brood's trad tunes are palatable to urban ears, since the songs stand up even better than the schtick. LIISA LADOUCEUR
http://www.americana-uk.com/html/reviews.html, January 2004
ELLIOTT BROOD
(5 stars)
Most independently released albums and EPs go into our brief reviews section, as well as a few others that we really don't like but don't want to be spectacularly unpleasant about. It does the leave the reader with the impression that every release we review is unbelievably brilliant, and the clearly isn't the case. Which ones to buy, after all? Well, here's one answer - if you buy nothing else for the rest of the month, buy this. Everything about it, from the packaging, which is a work of gothic folk art worthy of purchase in it's own right, to it's length (clocking in at under 20 minutes), to the actual size of the CD (half the normal size) is original, thought through and perfectly executed. Not to tie the two together too much, but this is the single best alt.folk/country self or indie release since Chris Mills' "Nobody's Favorite" in 1998. It is reminiscent of that style- all aggressively lo-fi, with clunky background noises and flaws which bring to mind Conor Oberst, Palace and acoustic Uncle Tupelo.
There are moments where Brood's acoustic guitar is torn apart and he screams the words over the ensuing chaos, then it's just him, a banjo and a barely strummed guitar exchanging melodies. He has an instinct for knowing when to let noise reign, and to when to let it subside, and the sense of peace and relief come like a flood, leaving the listener blissed out but suspecting it's about to get rowdy again. What about his voice? Strong, loud, aggressive, yearning like you'd forgotten how to yearn; joyful, angry, soulful and totally seductive- Brood's vocal dominates proceedings and the components of the music fall in behind like they've got a bad case of puppy love. Keep a special eye for "Oh Alberta" and "Riding in Time", but really, pick any song and you'll love it.The kind of impassioned, shining, melodious, ragged music that reminds you of all the good things about so many records you've held precious in the past, and makes you ashamed of the times when your faith has waned. The essential purchase of January. www.elliottbrood.ca MP
http://www.altcountry.nl
ELLIOTT BROOD
Alleen al voor het fraaie artwork zou je Tin Type van Elliott Brood uit Ontario, Canada, willen aanschaffen. In een pikzwarte envelop zit een fraaie ansichtkaart uit 1910 of zo met sjiek randje van een stelletje struikrovers of een familie die daar op lijkt. Met op de binnenzijde van de kaart een mysterieus verhaaltje over vuur in eenregenachtig bos van ene Michael Sutherland over Brood. De plaat zelf - een mini-cd in een mini-uitvoering - zit verpakt in een bruin zakje (zie foto). En als je dat zakje open maakt, dan heb je een pikzwart klaphoesje van pakweg 7 bij 7 centimeter in je hand, waar op «pagina«5 het pikdonkere schijfje schuil gaat achter een stukje antiek ogend plastic. We horen iemand een val spannen op zo, waarna een gitaar begint te spelen, een banjo invalt en iemand begint te zingen met een stem die je al had verwacht toen je het pakje in handen kreeg. Een beetje een afgeknepen stem, ruw. beslist niet fraai, maar wel bijzonder en zonder meer verslavend. Toch is de verrassing groot, want Elliott Brood is helemaal geen singer-songwriter, maar een duo bestaande uit Mark Sasso en Casey Laforet. Samen zingen en spelen ze op vlammende wijze zes donkere, tijdloze folkliedjes die zich bewegen ergens tussen 16 Horsepower, Fred Eaglesmith en The Gourds. Qua originaliteit krijgen ze van mij een tien. Maar omdat het slechts een mini-cd is, voor de uitvoerig een 7,5. Samen goed voor vier swingende paardjes. Mocht je een dezer dagen een virtueel bezoekje brengen aan Miles Of Music, vergeet deze niet mee te bestellen. Voor de prijs kun je het niet laten: 5,59 dollar, ofwel een euro of vier.
(Pulse Niagara, 2004)
Elliot Brood - Tin Type - WeeWerk / Electro Photo Records
It's not only cool, but it's comforting to know that there are talented people out there who are proud to be small scale. Take Elliot Brood, for instance, a self described "Death Country" band from Toronto who perform raw acoustic bluegrass travel tunes and love songs for stoners and other lackadaisical folk. A trio, Casey Laforet, Mark Sasso and Stephen Pitkin, piece together guitar, banjo, piano and suitcases as drums with whiskey drenched vocals; their sound kind of reminds me of the Legendary Silver Hearts yet clearer, with less mud in the speaker but not lacking soul in their songs. Not only are they ecstatic to have a new album, but the first pressing, hand bound and lovingly wrapped in a paper bag, is limited to only 300 copies. Old time music never sounded so new! (Marinko Jareb)
Wavelength zine, April 2004. www.wavelengthtoronto.com
ELLIOTT BROOD
March 19 @ C'est What (www.weewerk.com)
In the past, when a certain amount of hype is thrown at a band, it's common knowledge to leave a good amount of room for disappointment. There are however, those fine exceptions, when expectations are exceeded, and this was one of them. Having only heard positive feedback when it came to Elliott Brood, I went into the show feeling pretty neutral. From the get-go, I was hooked. C'est What was set ablaze with song after song evoking the spirit of a young Bob Dylan while fusing it with all the great rockers alike. Who knew a banjo could take the lead so well, keeping time with thumping beats from the drums (the drummer uses a suitcase for a kick drum!) while the guitar seems to ebb and flow with such sweet conviction. This was not your normal three-piece band. This was something new all together. Call it death country, call it alt-country, call it metal country, call it what you will, because everything ends up being lumped into a category at some point. But no matter what you call it, just call it good. A band that is so musically equal in their talent for playing and their ability to write a brilliant song, Elliott Brood should be in your record collection, and on your list of "bands to see." - RT (Rae Tracks)
File next to: A stompin' good time.
Wavelength, January 2005 www.wavelengthtoronto.com
Toronto's Elliott Brood isn't one guy, but three: Mark Sasso, Casey Laforet and Steve Pitkin. They've got a self-titled Weewerk EP under their belts and plan on releasing a new album come spring. Shaunna Bednarek met up with Sasso and Laforet and the drinks were good.
ON YOUR WEBSITE, THERE'S A LEGEND ABOUT A MAN NAMED ELLIOTT BROOD. IS THAT FACT OR FICTION?
Mark: Our friend made that up. We didn't want to do the regular bio thing that everybody always does... A friend of ours is a writer, so we just let him go and create a guy, and that's where that comes from.
Casey: That's actually the first I heard of it. I thought he was real. Mark: It's kinda a cool thing to have a legend, as opposed to a bioÉ I just canÕt stand band bios... And you know that it's usually just the lead singer writing it anyway.
IF YOU GUYS PLAY "DEATH COUNTRY, WHAT WOULD BE "LIFE COUNTRY"?
Casey: Shania Twain? The Faith Hills and Toby Keiths of the world... Mark: I think it's just bad country, but that's all relative to the person. The only reason it's like "death country" is because it's just darker. Like Johnny Cash would probably be "death country" as well. It's murder ballads, it's not the happiest sort. A lot of people called [our music] country, and then were like, "Nah, it's 'death country.'" What was the other one? There was "urban hillbilly"...
Casey: "Blackgrass" is another one. So it's cool. At least there's a bunch of labels.
IS THERE AN INDIE COUNTRY "SCENE" IN TORONTO?
Mark: I don't think there's really a "scene." We're not part of it... All of these songs need to get out there. You might stumble upon people, but it's not like anybody's pushing. It's not a co-operative... There's a lot of bands out there hitting the mainstream that actually have that sound and now you kind of notice it. But I think it's always there. Like, The Sadies... I don't go out and necessarily seek out the type of music we play. We listen to all sorts of different music. Casey: I've been listening to the new Tegan and Sara non-stop right now. Mark: Modest Mouse, The Weakerthans... Casey: Modest Mouse is a great example... They can do stuff with banjos and lapsteels that you wouldn't expect. That's a really good thing, because it gets those instruments out there for people.
SO IF YOU GUYS ARE "DEATH COUNTRY," AND THE STUFF ON COMMERCIAL RADIO IS "LIFE COUNTRY," WHERE DO CLICHE'S LIKE DRINKING BECAUSE YOUR WIFE LEFT YOU WITH YOUR DOG AND YOUR TRUCK FIT IN?
Casey: I think with what we"re doing, the loss is a different kind of loss than your traditional "my dog's dead, and my truck" Mark: It's more stories as opposed to this person whining on about life. Everyone goes through it. It's more tales, as opposed to "my girlfriend dumped me." Who hasn't been dumped? Who hasn't had all of that happen to them? Who hasn't felt shitty in life? It's definitely not dialogue about bitching about your life. Casey: It's all about bitches and money! That's what death country is going to become, like every other music... We'll get money for a video and there'll be bikinis and fast cars.
SPEAKING OF CLICHE'S, EVER HAVE ANY FIGHTS BREAK OUT WHILE YOU GUYS WERE PLAYING?
Casey: I'm a big fan of the chicken-wire house stage where you're in danger of getting hit with beer bottles - I don't want to get hit with one, or anything. Just that mood is a cool setting for live music... No one's thrown anything at us yet that was big enough to hurt us.
Shaunna Bednarek
http://www.altcountry.nl/brood.html
Bizarre naam, geweldige muziek. Dat kan gezegd worden van Elliott Brood, een Canadees duo dat niet te temmen rootsmuziek maakt. Nu nog piepklein, binnenkort erg groot. Alt Country NL emailde met de twee: Mark Sasso en Casey Laforet.
een van de twee...
Mark Sasso
Who is-was Elliott Brood? How long are you working together with Casey?
"Elliott BROOD derived its name from a baseball movie (the natural). In the movie there is an EVIL character named or so Ithought was named Harrett BROOD but actually her name was Harrett Bryd. I thought if she had a brother his name would be Elliott."
Ever heard of Herman Brood? Hij was a famous rocksinger from the Netherlands who committed suicide a few years ago. He jumped of a hotel in Amsterdam.
"I've never heard of him. Sad tale."
The artwork of your cd is terriffic. Tell me the story behind. And who is Michael Sutherland?
"There is no real story behind the cd package other than I wanted it to seem as if you had found an old person photo album. So you get to take a look at someones life that you don't know and have never met.You try and piece together what their life must have been like. Along the lines of purchasing
old antiques and wondering who would have owned it before you bought the piece. What type of life did it lead."
As for the story I had asked my friend Michael Sutherland to write a story about visuals he got after listening to our music. We are not into band bio's and so this legend serves as our bio. We believe that the music is more important than the band members and what they do. We are Elliott BROOD
when we play. An entity unto itself".
What is the noice at the beginning? Sounds like winding up something.
"The sound at the beginning of the cd is of a clock and a man walking out onto a fornt porch as thesun is setting".
How you two got to rootsmusic? Bet you started as a punkband (like a lot of rootsbands).
"We don«t really consider ourselves roots. We call it DeathCountry Story based music. I've never played punk music althought Ido enjoy listening to it sometimes.I dont actually own any punk rock cds. I used to perform solo acoustic folk shows for along while before I started playing with Casey."
There is a lot of pop into your music also. Do the songs change into rock when you play electric?
"We haven't ever played our music electric. It has always been performed acoustic. I'm not quite sure it would have the same feel or sound if we played it electric. We have since added a drummer who plays suit cases as his drums. He was the person who recorded the album for us".
Can you tell me more about the production? Where was the record made?
"The record was made in my flat. We recorded it in my front room,which we call the orange room. We feel comfortable there. We had a great time making the record. Wehadto stop recording because of a thunder storm. So we stuck the microphone outside and recorded the street, people and the storm. It
canbe heard on Cadillac Dust."
How do you write the songs? You write the words together. How does that work? And what about the music?
"I'm not sure really. They just seem to happen. They start off as little parts or feelings and then they keep growing. I mainly write alone and then bring the songs to the group and tell them what I see when I play and listen to the music. Then we try to mold the song after wards. We write words separately usually but it depends on the song. Oh, Alberta we each wrote our own words".
I do miss the lyrics. It's about loneliness, drinking and.....?
"Robbery, murder,love,friends, summerdays,farms."
There was not material enough to make a complete album?
"We have enough material for a few records. We didn't have enough moeny at the time to record and put out an album. We thought we would only make 100 cd and that would be it. So we hired Stephenfor two days to record and mix the album".
I told my readers I hear Fred Eaglesmith in your music, 16 Horsepower and The Gourds. What do these names say to you?
"I haven't heard of the Gourds.I have heard of Fred Eaglesmith but I havenever heard his music. Maybe I should get a record of his. Any suggestions?16 Horsepower is a great band I saw them open for Grant Lee Buffalo inDetroit a few years back".
And I also do hear Marah, from Philadelphia. Are you familiar with the brother Dave and Serge Bielanko?
"Sorry. I haven't heard of them, I will definately check them out".
How is de cd received so far?
"I has been great. The response has been quite weird. In the sense that we never thought that all of these people would enjoy it so much. It is nice to have that. It means agreat deal to us".
What are your professions? Can you live from making music?
"I edit documentray films for a living. Casey is cartographer (mapmaker). As for living off music maybe someday soon who knows. It would be nice".
Tell me about your musical heroes. What is your favourite band/artist? First cd you bought? And first concert you visited?
"I have numerous musical heroes. Neil Young, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash.The Jayhawks. My first concert was RUSH whom I'm not very fond of anymore. My first CD was VanHalen in grade 4 Not fond of them any more either".
What are the plans for Elliott Brood?
"We are going to start to record our next record and try to tour as much as we can and hopefully get over to play in Europe next fall. We have just signed on with a small label inToronto called WeeWerk. We just want to keep pushing on."
A short reaction on these please
Amsterdam - "A place I want to travel to and see".
Italian food - "The mob".
George Bush - "Selfish man".
Charles Bukowski - "Drinker poet womanizer (great writer) *****one of my favorites*****".
Hank Williams -"Died too young".
CASEY LAFORET
Who is-was Elliott Brood? How long are you working together with Casey?
"We've been playing together for almost two years".
Ever heard of Herman Brood? Hij was a famous rocksinger from the Netherlands who committed suicide a few years ago. He jumped of a hotel in Amsterdam.
"Someone mentioned him to me when i was in Amsterdam this fall."
The artwork of your cd is terriffic. Tell me the story behind. And who is Michael Sutherland?
"Every photo corner in those books was personally licked by me."
What is the noice at the beginning? Sounds like winding up something.
"What noise... i didn't hear anything."
How you two got to rootsmusic? Bet you started as a punkband (like a lot of rootsbands).
"The sound just kind of happened... hopefully it doesn't have a category yet."
There is a lot of pop into your music also. Do the songs change into rock when you play electric?
"The live sound is key... recorded cd secondary.#
Can you tell me more about the production? Where was the record made?
"Old equipment... old instruments... old whiskey".
How do you write the songs? You write the words together. How does that work? And what about the music?
"Mark had a lot of songs ready to go, and we've collaborated to make a lot more. We have a good ability to play off each other, and that same relationship exists with Steve."
I do miss the lyrics. It's about loneliness, drinking and.....?
....
There was not material enough to make a complete album?
"There's tons of songs, but not tons of time."
I told my readers I hear Fred Eaglesmith in your music, 16 Horsepower and The Gourds. What do these names say to you?
"I actually bought a 16 horsepower cd in the Schipol Airport and i like it a lot. I love a band with a large variety of instruments, and they cover
songs in completely different ways than they were originally written. The disc I have has a sweet version of bad moon rising."
And I also do hear Marah, from Philadelphia. Are you familiar with the brothers Dave and Serge Bielanko?
"No, not as of yet."
How is de cd received so far?
"We havn't really been outside of toronto yet, but it's doing well here. The live show has really helped push the cd."
What is your profession? Can you live from making music?
"Living off of music would be incredible, but i know too many 'proffesional musicians' who treat it like a job. any money we do make at this point is
going towards travelling and recording. i think that making a living stricly off of music would take a lot of the fun out of it. it's nice not
to have to depend on a cover charge to buy groceries."
Tell me about your musical heroes. What is your favourite band/artist? First cd you bought? And first concert you visited?
"Neutral milk hotel is my favorite band right now... Dinosaur jr has always been up there... there's a band from toronto called parkdale. they put out
one cd i think and i don't think they even play anymore, but they have to be two of the most talented guys i've ever hear. My first cd was the rocky 4 soundtrack. And my first concert was alice in chains in Detroit."
What are the plans for Elliott Brood?
"Good times".
A short reaction on these please
Amsterdam ... It almost killed me, but worth it
Italian food ... Canadian whiskey
George Bush ... Our fault
Charles Bukowski ... Italian food... sorry you made me hungry
Hank Williams ... Short attention span
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