April 29, 2005 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 9

eveningsout

An invasion from the north is coming, but it's a good one

by Anthony Glassman

George W. Bush's worst nightmare is about to come true: queer liberals from Canada are invading the United States, sending a fivewoman army to tear down the walls.

Okay, that may have been a bit over-thetop, a touch of hyperbole, perhaps, but with three concert dates in Cleveland, Columbus and suburban Cincinnati kicking off the month of May, the Organ, a Vancouver quintet, are set to show audiences in the United States why they have garnered such a reputation in their home and native land.

The follow-up to Sinking Hearts, their Global Symphonic debut in 2002, Grab That Gun is their first album on Mint Records and 604 Records.

Comprised of lead singer Katie Sketch, bassist Ashley Webber, guitarist Debroa Cohen, drummer Shelby Stocks and Jenny Smyth on the Hammond organ, when these women get together, all is right in the musical world.

Fresh off an appearance on Showtime's The L Word, the band is touring with the Wedding Present for their May dates.

While seven different reviewers could say seven different things about the band, none of them could find fault with Grab That Gun, a generous 11 tracks of pure upbeat shoegazing. London's Metro called them "rain-lashed melancholy, bleak but human, and never less than beautiful," while NME said that "they do moody like only girls know how."

Of course, in the land of music intended to be sold, listened to and recommended to friends and family, comparisons to other bands are inevitable, and can be a useful tool, if only by providing a frame of reference.

One can spout on and on about the Goth influence of the Hammond organ, or the sharply-written vocals, and that's all well and good. It won't make someone say, "Judging from that incredibly pretentious description, I bet I'll like that album!"

Saying, however, that Katie Sketch sounds like Debbie Harry from Blondie, and that the overall sound is reminiscent of the Cure is much more likely to produce the desired effect.

Even such glowing comparisons, however, do not really do the album justice.

While this newspaper's art director thought that it was slightly overproduced and “too easy," even her hardcore indie-rock sensibilities were satiated with the Organ's efforts. Where one might bring up the Debbie Harry comparison, she referred to Electrelane instead, proving her indie street cred.

However, many of the influences heard in Grab That Gun are difficult to pin down, almost at the tip of the tongue, but not quite. The label thinks Sketch sounds like a cross between Morrissey and Alison Moyet, and

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The Fader magazine refers to the band as a "further stripped-down version of the Smiths and Joy Division."

Perhaps that judgment was of the first album, since the second album is far too sleek to be stripped-down from the bare-bones sound of Joy Division, but there is something sexy to the band's weltschmerzen, as was the case with JD and the Smiths.

The Organ will be at the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland on Tuesday, May 3 for a 9 pm show, opening for the Wedding Present. Tickets are $12, and the Beachland, at 15711 Waterloo Rd, can be reached at 216-383-1124.

The following night, they will be at Little Brother's in Columbus, 1100 North High Street. Tickets are $12 and the show begins at 8:30 pm. For more information, call 614421-2025.

They wrap up their Interstate 71 trip with a stop at the Southgate House in Newport, Kentucky on May 5 at 8:30 pm. Tickets are $12 advance, $14 door. Southgate House, 24 East Third Street, can be reached at 859431-2201.

For more information on the Organ, log onto www.theorgan.ca or www.mint

recs.com.

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