Sweetheart Username. Release Date : December 3, 2004. Label: Independent. Rating: Andy doesn't dig rating stuff. About the time that 2003 was spinning around into 2004, a great band was making its abrupt exit. That band was Grace Nocturnal, and I still pine for that glorious year I knew of them, their sounds, and the incredible collection of individuals that made the music. Since the split, they've all had various projects - some of them float about Victoria still, playing here and there in bands like Leeroy Stagger and Jets Overhead. Their main guitar wizard dashed off to Toronto to lend Boy a hand, and suddenly that band has a suspiciously Grace-esque overtone. But what of Marty Zylstra, the man with the flippant on-stage swagger, the no-holds-barred audience-interactivity spawner, the cavorting voice of Grace Nocturnal? Well he's in Vancouver. We got him. He's all ours. Thank God. So he stewed about for a while, occasionally humming about this new project, and one day, it was suddenly born. From there, it happened fast. A 'look' was established, a website and design drawn up, band members pulled together, and a four-song EP recorded. And voila, during New Music West in November 2004, Sweetheart played its premier show. Is this a good move or not? Hard to say - on the one hand, the demos were strong enough to secure the band a spot in the fest despite having never played a show before. That's a pretty good thing. Getting your chops down in front of a crowd during a snappy set that they aren't the isolated centre of attention in might also be a good thing. But on the other hand, it's pretty risky to try and stand up tall in a festival crowd with zero experience as a collective. Yet they did it, undaunted, and carried it off. That's definitely saying something about them before even hearing a lick of their music. And here's the thing - that whole deal just reeks of jump-into-it-feet-first. But it didn't stop there. The professionally-done vibe the project extended beyond the pink ties and lively show, to things like the band's classy album graphics, titles, and of course, the music itself. Having established a network in Vancouver while still with Grace Nocturnal, Zylstra called on oft-showmate Toby Hulse (from Retrograde) to sit at the helm of the recording process. What developed was released in December as the four-song EP, Username. The title and graphics might suggest this is some sort of uber-digitalized record, but it's really rather not. There's keys, but not bloopy huge new-wave electro-keys. And after that, aside from the recording process itself, this is on-top guitar rock and most certainly not a digital endeavour. There's a running band joke about the internet (long-standing.... ask them about it if you want to know more) that could have been behind it. But no matter what ideas spurred the little pixelated computer and heart, the result is a set of album graphics that any startup band should be proud of, and set to attract and impress new listeners. Band dynamics 101, kids. Pay attention. Now what of the songs? Well there's only four of them here. I really wish there were more. It's like when you're finally completely ensconced in the whole experience, you've just thrown caution to the wind, started to not care what your spying neighbours and sidelong-glancing bus patrons think about your manic foot-tapping, head-bopping, shimmying ways, and gotten the hang of the thrumming enough to toss out some doos and bupps... the disc suddenly ends. It's like falling off a cliff with your head up. You think you're totally in the clear for a while, you're gazing lovingly at the clouds rolling by above you, happy, not a care in the world, and then all of a sudden, your feet are on air, and you can feel that gasp... you didn't expect it, your breath catches in your throat. And then you're just down. Bring on the repeat button. One thing to remember is that this is a very young band. They havent been together long, and they've already gone through member changes. It's that whole exploration phase, but anyone who's a fan of rock music who doesn't end up tapping their toes to this simply has a heart of stone. Personally I find it hard to not compare it to Zylstra's present work with Grace Nocturnal, even though I'm really trying hard to separate it. It's just that old vision of paradise I have, it's clouding my foresight on this record to a degree - and also because I know Zylstra has the mindset and the gumption to bring it back to that level with this new band. The guy can pretty much do anything. But I know, because I can hear it quite plainly, that this is a different band entirely. The music slots into the same genre as Grace did, but it has a different vibe, cleaner, more edgy and directly rock, less ambient than before. See, I'm caught in that trap now... enough! On with this CD! Zylstra's voice is strong, almost jazzy, ringing out clearer than I ever remember it before. It could be production values, it could be experience, but either way, it sounds great. He has an interesting wail. Every word climbs up or down the scale for its duration, and he often chops up lines, each word ending abruptly. The first track, "On/Off" relies on an interesting lyrical treatment where words are repeated three or four times in succession. Is he filling up blank spots in lines, or serving to give the song a new flow? We may never know, but it does certainly do the latter. I'm a pretty huge fan of the drums on a lot of this collection. That great snippity never-ending warp-speed cymbal dusting, and a lead-footed kick. While one might be eager to throw this quickly into the pile of fuzzy modern 'cool' guitar rock, I think there's a bit more going on here... again, an experimental stage. The live vibe is already evolved from what's represented here, and I dont think they're far off from finding themselves a perfect niche. It's an adaptable sound. Well-timed stops, and the characteristic voice pull this out of the herd slightly. Zylstra lies somewhere between the way-too-disaffected cool of an Interpol or Strokes, and the wild excitable vocal lungings of a Jon Spencer or Billy Talent - which might be what leaves this a little lukewarm at times - if the song seems to warrant a big scream, it's not there. But he's not monotone enough to make him seem like he's just bored of fronting a band, which is of course de rigeur amongst the hippest of the hip. So the problem is... he sounds like he's... having too much... fun? No anger or boredom. Hmm. Having fun is evidently unallowed. But when he's going through lines like the 'let it out... love isn't love until you feel it' sequence at the end of track three, it seems like there should be something a bit more pushy in the voice. As it stands it's a bit like he's reading the lyrics off a sheet that was just handed to him, like it all needs to be fleshed out a bit more. But again, that's something that's already happening in the live shows, so I doubt this is much more than just first-recording syndrome. Of course, it needs to be noted with no small measure of appreciation and respect, that he can actually sing extremely well, hold his notes. The guitars very occasionally feel a bit aimless, but that's rare. They are saved though by sudden exploding riffs and jangly bits that pull you right back in. So, a bit of development, and these guys are on the way. And chances are, they'd be a lot closer to their destination right now if they were to go into a recording studio today to whip out a new tune. People will pay attention to this. I can't even tell you how pleased I am to see Zylstra carrying on in the tradition of killer rock that I feared would be lost with the passing of Grace. How silly I was to be concerned. Of course he'd be back. You can't keep the guy down. I dare you to try. Listen to Sweetheart; rock heartily. Song of choice : "Mayday" definitely the favourite. That tripping, verging-on-awkward extension of the word "try" is irresistable. -Andy Scheffler Elsewhere Sweetheart website Published : February, 2005.