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Wheels On The Bus
Take This Knife...From My Hands
2003, independent release
This is your new favourite band; you just don‘t know it yet.
I‘d never heard of Wheels On The Bus until a week before they played a show in Ottawa, when their name was on fliers around town and I said to myself, "Self, you cannot miss a band with such an awesome name." ‘Wheels On The Bus‘ was a favourite childhood song of mine, so it stands to reason that I‘d love a band with that moniker, right?
Right.
WOTB have here a six-song EP produced by an obscure dude named Steve Rizun, on no label to speak of, with presumably limited funds, and they aced it. Hints of fellow Brampton, Ontario natives Moneen appear here and there in the sometimes-frantic tempo changes, while the metal edge of Thrice rears its head often, especially in the half-speed breakdown in the last song, ‘Guest List‘. All three frontliners (two guitars and bass) share vocal duties throughout; clean vocals dominate with killer melodies and harmonies offset by guitar riffs that are simple, effective and hooky as all get out. And what makes great vocals better? Background screaming, of course, tastefully deployed. Yes. On top of it all, chugging double bass and metallic, chopping riffs give the impression that behind a tight, almost-poppy-at-times emo/rock band lurks a metal leviathan just waiting to escape. Heaven only knows what that would sound like. In the meantime, this catchy little EP is a must.