The Sadies Colder Streams LP (Ice Blue Vinyl)

TAS Rated 4/5 Music, 4/5 Sonics in the December 2022 Issue of The Absolute Sound!

With a deep fondness and reverence for the best of CBGB - country, bluegrass, and blues - The Sadies are equally informed and influenced by everything from '60s garage and psychedelic rock to surf instrumentals and punk rock. Since they first arrived on the North American scene in 1994, the Toronto-based roots-rockers have developed, even perfected, a style of music uniquely their own.

The quartet's 2022 album, Colder Streams, is their best album yet. Produced by Arcade Fire's Richard Reed Parry and recorded between 2019 and 2021 at Skybarn in Montreal, Canada, the 11-song platter exhibits again why The Sadies are in a league of their own.

With guest appearances by Jon Spencer ("No One's Listening"), Michael Dubue ("End Credits"), Richard Reed Parry ("Message for Belial", "No One's Listening" and "Ginger Moon"), and the parents Good, Margaret on backing vocals for "So Far for So Few" and "All the Good", with Bruce on autoharp on the latter, the cover art is original artwork by The Sadies' bassist Sean Dean.

The release of Colder Streams marks the quartet's final studio recording with founding member Dallas Good, who unexpectedly passed away in February 2022. In preparation for the release, in October of 2021, Dallas penned what he coined the band's "anti-bio" and seemingly said all there is to say about the new album, first noting, "Colder Streams is, by far, the best record that has ever been made by anyone. Ever."

"The Sadies' world has been shaken," said the band in a joint statement. "While we struggle with the loss of Dallas - our brother, friend, and bandmate - music has been our source of comfort and coping. We are honoured to announce the release of our new album, Colder Streams. We are so proud of Dallas and the work that went into this album and look forward to sharing it with you."

"I was utterly thrilled the Sadies asked me to produce this record," said Richard Reed Parry, "which mostly meant I just hung around listening to the greatest live band in the country playing their asses off, and then occasionally I'd get off the couch and sing backing vocals. That said, this is The Sadies' finest album, the one I always hoped they'd make one day and I'm stoked to have been there helping them do it. What an incredible band."

The Sadies - Colder Streams anti-bio

By Dallas Good, October 2021

'Colder Streams' is, by far, the best record that has ever been made by anyone. Ever.

As we all know, the 'press release' is a tool meant to announce and promote a new recording project. A jaded and unreliable sales-pitch at best, the usual 'bio' invariably attempts to describe the project in question as some sort of second coming. But how do you sell sounds? The critics' voice must be heard at all costs, but this is something else entirely. Obviously, this is an ad.

Knowing what you're getting is all anyone really wants to know. The details of how the recording is made might be interesting, but they aren't exactly crucial to the listening process. In our case, comparisons can be misleading too, because The Sadies don't really fit tidily into any genre, or even sub-genre. We aren't really 'pre or post' anything and we don't have the right hair-cuts or hats for any particular scene. Can't really call us modern or retro either. We certainly don't claim to have re-invented the wheel. We just are. And have been for a very long time. So, all that matters is the music itself, right?

After making so many records, some things get easier. Most things do not. But just because it's harder doesn't mean it isn't better. I think it's gotten easier to know when we are onto something and that's in no small part due to working with Richard Reed Parry (Arcade Fire/Belle Orchestre) as producer. We put in a lot of hard work but he always made it easy and fun. This is, of course, totally irrelevant to your listening experience.

We began this recording well over a year before the plague began and completed it in June 2021. The studio we worked at in Quebec is perfectly calibrated to our claustrophobia. It was mostly engineered by Pietro Amato (Belle Orchestre/etc.), who is great at everything he does when he's not doing something else. Jon Spencer (Jon Spencer!!!) was kind enough to intervene and rescue a song for us. My folks play on it. There was a church™ involved. Curfews were broken. Borders were crossed stealthily. Sean did all of the artwork. Travis and Mike did a lot of driving. I did the bio.

'Colder Streams' is a record made with love by loved ones. The Sadies have released a lot of records. This is one of them.

Do any bands make their best work this far along in their career? I can think of artists who still make great music after all these years, but their best? Yet, here we are and that's what I'm accusing us of. I think it's our best but I've been wrong before. All I ask is that you listen to a few songs and decide for yourself what it sounds like. If you like it, you'll know what to do. But my description of the music would just be punishing for the both of us.

I guess all that really needs to be said here is that if you like The Sadies, you will definitely want to get 'Colder Streams'. If you disliked or felt indifferent towards The Sadies, you will definitely want to get 'Colder Streams'. If you've never heard The Sadies and yet you're still reading, you too will definitely want to get 'Colder Streams'.

But unfortunately, it's sold out.

#TheBeatles, #Cher, #BobMarley, #ArcadeFire

This is far and away the best the band has ever sounded on record...It’s almost alarming how this record feels both immaculate and voyeuristic at the same time, like on the fuzzed-out choruses of opener 'Stop and Start' and the Travis-sung autumnal folk ballad 'All The Good.' You get a perfect sense of where each instrument sits in the mix, as if you are sitting dead center in their practice space, all while feeling like it is music being conjured in a hallucinatory state. Then there's the songs, which are perhaps the strongest collection both Dallas and Travis have assembled since their 2010 masterpiece Darker Circles. The majority of the material here finds the band playing in their muscular, gothic mod-garage mode, with the two brothers singing in perfect, spectral harmony... As the album closes with the Ennio Morricone-style instrumental 'The End Credits,' you can feel the sun set on a truly original band, unknowingly saying goodbye to their dynamic leader.

One of the Sadies' best, a psychedelic swirl spiked with the Goods' shared lead vocals, chiming and muscular Gretch guitar-playing, and haunting melodies. With their unique garage blend of surf guitar, psychedelic rock, and turbo-twang alt-country, the Sadies split the difference between Ennio MOrricone and the Byrds in shades of dark paisley and heavy reverb... If Colder Streams turns out to be the Sadies' last record, what a glorious way to go out.