| Album Reviews |
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| HeroHill |
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April 13 2008 |
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| "Sunday Morning Coffee :: The I Spies - I was able to throw on this record and not once hit ">>" |
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| See Magazine |
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April 3 2008 |
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| "Hook, hook. Thump thump. - The I Spies feel like Ontario's response to Victoria's Hot Hot Heat, and are even more likely to be the next hot pop quartet north of the American border." |
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| ELLE Magazine |
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April 2008 |
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| "TOP 3 CD'S - . . . the kind of album that's easy to fall in love with, especially if you're a fan of revved up power-pop songs with insanely cathy melodies (and who isn't?)" |
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| CBC Radio 3 |
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March 21, 2008 |
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| "Grant Lawrence's Podcast" |
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| Two Way Monologues |
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March 21, 2008 |
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| "Dancable, catchy and infectious: The I Spies' album In The Night is a frenzy of "just got to get up and move" post-punk-pop.." |
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| Toronto Indie |
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March 2 2008 |
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| "What feels like a story sucks you into its world and keeps you until the very last scene." |
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| Moving in Stereo |
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February 24 2008 |
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| "I SPY(IES) MORE CANADIAN GOODNESS - This album will be an indie hit. Catchy, catchy pop goodness; post-punk guitar pop, reminiscent of early 80s British rock." |
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| Scene and Heard |
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Febraury 20 2008 |
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| "The disc moves at a lightning pace and showcases the band's highly tuned ability to produce tight post-punk rock . . ." |
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| VUE Weekly |
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January 24 2008 |
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HAIKU - QUICK SPINS:
"Someone remembers Tommy Tutone, and they were Paying attention." |
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| Toronto Star |
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January 31 2008 |
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"The band's bracing new album, In the Night, leaps from the speakers in a manner few of its self-released contemporaries can match."
"...the crisp, ridiculously hooky post-punk guitar-pop contained therein seems pretty much destined to elevate the I Spies to a level of notoriety currently enjoyed by their numerous, better-known, internationally exported Canadian indie contemporaries." |
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| Now Magazine |
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January 31 2008 |
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| "...this solidly rendered offering shows that the I Spies deserve to rise above the vanilla crop." |
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| Estonian Life |
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December 17 2007 |
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"The I iSpies are for real. Their CD is a collection of tight, well-crafted tunes that owes a fair bit - at least to these ears – to the inspiration provided by British rock of the late 1970s and early '80s."
"The layers of sound produced by the quartet never overwhelm. Laudably, The I Spies are well aware of the effects that can be created by tempo and intensity variations. As a result the album sounds up beat and fresh, no mean feat in today's competitive music field." |
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| Exclaim! |
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November 2007 |
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"Charging out of the gates with pristine pop rock intensity, the I Spies rarely let up on their breakneck pace. Hooks bristle from each song like a candy-coated porcupine."
"Up All Night" is an obvious cross-format hit I expect to be hearing plastered all over modern rock radio any day now. If you like your music peppier than a lake of Red Bull and catchier than the plague, set your sights on the I Spies." |
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| Pop Montreal (festival guide) |
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October 2007 |
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| "I spy with my little eye a Toronto indie pop band playing some of the most unabashedly infectious pop songs at this year's festival :The I Spies. I spy with my little eye a band that will probably be all over the airwaves within a year or two." |
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| The Varsity |
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October 5 2007 |
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| "Save yourself the trouble of waiting for Franz Ferdinand's next record and pick up the ambitious full-length debut from this local indie quartet. The I Spies do frenzied, angular post-punk better than just about anyone in the Toronto scene, and singer Johnny Kay even throws in just enough of a Scouse accent to convince you that you might be in Camden Town instead of Kensington Market." |
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| Eye Weekly (Disc-overy of the Week) |
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October 4 2007 |
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| "The I Spies make thoroughly solid indie rock, and their espionage skills apparently include pricking up their ears for any decent riffs or catchy pop hooks." |
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| Live Reviews |
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| Toronto Indie |
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January 11 2008 |
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"Sneaky Dee's held the highly anticipated CD-release party for The I Spies debut CD In The Night, which will be released Feb 5th , 2008. After hearing of the show earlier this month, I was happy to have an evening free to finally check out a band that has been creating a lot of buzz.
The I Spies only played 8 songs, but Johnny and the rest of the band stayed true to their sound and never faltered or swayed. James Roberston (guitar, vocals) Steve Payne (bass), and Markus Saks (drums) each stayed focused on the same goal of giving a stellar performance to the packed crowd.
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| It's Not The Band I Hate, It's Their Fans |
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December 19 2007 |
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| "They simply play really good pop songs that sound slightly reminiscent of all that was good about the era. I'm talking about bands like The Police, The Pretenders and, most of all, Elvis Costello. They don't seem like they're out to prove anything other than the fact that they like and respect good music. They even look like normal people, while playing music for normal people. Very impressive and highly recommended." |
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| Two Way Monologues |
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August 16 2007 |
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"I'm always amazed when a band's recording sounds so much different from their live show. Sometimes it can be a wonderful take on a solid foundation that builds into a monument as the show goes on and sometimes it can crumble before our eyes. Luckily the I Spies are the former."
Overall night 8.8 (one of the best bets this summer) |
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