London’s Newport Electric formed in 2014 and released their debut album “So It Goes” the following year to excellent reviews.
In 2018 they released their follow up “Thin Wild Mercury” culminating in a fantastic vinyl release show right here at Aeolian Hall. This album garnered further attention and was greeted with even more positive reviews from Europe and the U.S., along with a 2019 FCLMA award for “Rock Band of The Year”.
After a pandemic-related delay they are extremely excited to announce their new album “Discord And Harmony” set for release at this show right here at the Hall. The album will again be available in vinyl, cd or digital formats.
The album blasts right out of the gate with an updated version of a John Lee Hooker song called “Boom!”. Lead singer John Couture explains: “we were working on this new song, but something just wasn’t quite right. It was good but it wasn’t perfect…it needed something. So we parked it until we stumbled upon the idea that the chorus for John Lee Hooker’s song “Boom Boom” would fit perfectly. John Lee has been a big musical hero of mine for many years so I thought it was a perfect way to marry our music with his. Hopefully anyone who enjoys our song will go seek out John Lee’s work as well”.
The album continues with high energy songs throughout the first side. A fan favourite is “Devil’s Bargain”, a song inspired by a terrorist attack that has become all too familiar these days. The lyrics are chilling at times: “Everybody is a time bomb/watch the seconds tick away…”.
Flip over the record and side two hits with a fantastic acoustic riff that builds up to a full band crescendo in a standout track called “I’m Alive”.
The best song on the album follows – one that has a perfect marriage of excellent lyrics and a catchy melody called “So It Goes”…not to be confused with their first album of the same name! (An official video for this song is currently scheduled for a November 2022 release).
Again singer Couture explains: “this is the standout track for me. I’m really proud of all the songs of course but I think this is one that years from now I will look back and point to as a defining moment in my song writing”. He explained how the song’s core idea is that bad things happen to everyone, but in a strange way these bad things are not only inevitable, but in fact necessary as we need to experience them so that we can truly understand and appreciate the good things we have in our lives. The first verse sums it up nicely: “I was taught they never could/but sometimes evil dances with the good/through blackness comes a brighter light/it’s the dark that lets us see it shine”.
The final track has a great Blue Rodeo-style vibe and another interesting concept using the Mattagami River as a metaphor about life and death. Anyone from the Timmins area will surely want to pay attention to this one! Always a crowd pleaser when performed live as well.
The band’s overall sound is clearly influenced by the 60’s and 70’s artists they grew up listening to…even their name is an homage to a monumental moment in rock history (July 25th, 1965…Google it!).
Reviews of Newport Electric’s albums are stellar and it appears more will follow with this new release. Their last show here at the Hall was a real highlight and the band is set to deliver another evening of musical entertainment for multiple generations of fans who like to hear a tight band play songs with catchy melodies and interesting lyrics. Opening the show will be another local act Brother Leeds who have also received their share of high praise for their Black Crowes/Rolling Stones/Tragically Hip brand of guitar-based rock.
Newport Electric plus Brother Leeds equals a highly anticipated night of rock ‘n’ roll you won’t want to miss!
