By Will Yannacoulias
Photos by Tracy Creighton/Copperblue Photography & Design (copperbluedesign.ca)
Two summer singles from Saskatoon’s GreenWing helped build anticipation for the September release of their debut album Late Bloomer, an eight track effort heralded by an album release party at Amigos Cantina on September 30th. Guitarist Matt Stinn, bassist Travis Williams and drummer Zakk Strelioff packed the house, sharing the stage with After Two AM, Aurora Bella and Unproductive for a memorable night of high energy music.
GreenWing absolutely dominated the stage, blazing through a high energy twelve song set honed razor sharp by a summer of touring. The entirety of the debut album, including singles “Late Bloomer” and “Social Cues”, was performed for an excited audience that sang along to every word. Choice covers punctuated the set, including My Chemical Romance’s sing-along anthem “Teenagers”. An unreleased track, “Darker”, guaranteed that there’s more music to come from GreenWing. Stinn’s earlier apology that they wouldn’t be doing an encore didn’t stop the crowd from loudly calling for one at the end of the final song.
Late Bloomer, which hit streaming services September 28th, is an exciting addition to the Saskatoon music scene. The aggressive, polished production of the songs highlights the skilled musicianship of the band; Williams and Strelioff have an easy chemistry as a rhythm section, deftly steering the songs through satisfying starts & stops, tempo changes and breakdowns. Reminiscent of Art Alexakis, Stinn has a flair for memorable melodies, moving effortlessly between a breathless murmur, gritty drawl and pop punk snarl. Guitar driven rock in the vein of Weezer that unapologetically celebrates its punk, indie and alternative influences, GreenWing’s highly listenable Late Bloomer walks the line between fighting and fun.
“It feels like a big sigh of relief followed by tension” Stinn told NSMZ, when asked about the experience of releasing and performing Late Bloomer. “Knowing that people are connecting with our album and into what we’re doing is the ultimate payoff. Having a full audience singing our choruses on Friday night felt amazing - but this is just the start of things. Now we have to deliver on the back end of these expectations we’ve created with our listeners and I’m definitely approaching that with anxious excitement.”
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