(Band photo by Lindsay Wallace) Founded in Vancouver in 2005 by vocalist Brian Gustavson, the post-punk act Spectres is one of the bands responsible for kicking off the renewed interest in the post-punk sound in Canada.
Guitarist Zach Batalden states: “The band was started as a way to creatively explore 1980’s British anarcho-punk, and while creatively we have drifted in new directions this core influence still holds a lot of inspiration for us. Bands like The Mob, Crisis, Crass and Zounds are all still very important for us. From there we took a deep interest in ’80s post-punk and new wave, with bands like The Sound, The Chameleons, Theatre of Hate, and Modern English, central to the way our sound has developed. For the new album, Nostalgia, we were listening to a lot of Flying Nun bands like The Bats, The Verlaines, and The Clean as well.”
The band’s newest album “Nostalgia” was produced by Actors frontman Jason Corbett at Jacknife Sound in Vancouver. It follows three independent albums which were all reissued by Artoffact Records in 2019.
To get an idea how the band sounds like, here’s the “Northern Towns” music video from the 2019 “Provincial Wake” 7″.
The band’s current lineup consists of vocalist Brian Gustavson, Zach Batalden on guitar, Mitch Allen on drums, Adam Mitchell on guitar and Jason Renix on bass.
2020 Tour
The band will also depart on a US tour later in 2020.
- Mar 6 – Portland, OR – Blackwater Bar
- Mar 7 – Oakland, CA – First Church of the Buzzard
- Mar 8 – Los Angeles, CA – Part Time Punks
- Mar 10 – San Diego, CA – The Whistle Stop
- Mar 11 – Los Angeles, CA – The Rec Room
- Mar 12 – San Francisco, CA – The Eagle
- Mar 13 – Chico, CA – Naked Lounge
- Mar 14 – Portland, OR – Lovecraft
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