Music Pistol George Warren Retro Pop By Kris Ketonen F or the members of Sudbury-based Pistol George Warren, June 23 can’t come fast enough. That’s the day their new full-length album, Oceapur 9, finally gets released, three years after the band’s previous album, 2012’s Mindemoya. “It’s been a long time coming,” band member Jen McKerral says of Oceapur 9, a 12-track offering that hops across genres (the band mem- bers refer to their sound as “retro-pop”). “Each record sounds different than the others. We never know how people will react.” But so far, she says, “it’s been positive.” Each of the 12 tracks were put together via a very organ- ic songwriting process, band member Maty Ralph says. It marked a shift from previous efforts, where a band member would bring something they were working on individually to the group, who would then build a song around it. That led, Ralph says, to a lot of vetoes— about one in three songs were scrapped, in fact, because some- one didn’t like how the song was turning out. For Oceapur 9, however, “we’d write a song based around a musical riff that came out during jam sessions that involved the entire band. These little parts would expand into full songs.” It allowed for more contribution right from the start, and “there was a better chance they would work.” Oceaupur 9 is the band’s third full-length album (they’ve also released two EPs) and they’re currently ready- ing not only for the release, but also preparing to hit the road in early July for a month- long tour in support of the PARKLANE TOWNHOMES AFFORDABLE URBAN FAMILY LIVING Beautiful, newly renovated, 3 bedroom townhomes available. INQUIRE ABOUT THE $400 MOVE IN SPECIAL! www.north44pm.com 46 The Walleye 1-877-879-9828 album. The trip kicks off at the Northern Lights Festival Boreal in the band’s hometown of Sudbury, and brings them to Thunder Bay’s own Foundry on July 29 before wrapping up at the Fire & Water Festival in Lac-du-Bonnet, Manitoba, in early August. For more on the band, visit pis- tolgeorgewarren.bandcamp.com.