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Singer and guitarist Craig Northey and his fellow Odds – bassist Doug Elliott, drummer Pat Steward, and guitarist Murray Atkinson – may be firmly rooted in the present, but they certainly know a thing or two about the past. Founded in 1987, Odds burst onto the recording scene in 1991 with their rambunctious, self-produced major label debut, Neopolitan. Their 1993 Gold-selling followup, Bedbugs, featured the iconic single “It Falls Apart” and they continued a run of successful and critically acclaimed releases including 1995’s Platinum-selling Good Weird Feeling, and the 1996 album Nest, featuring the hit singles “Someone Who’s Cool” and “Make You Mad.” Completing chapter one of their recording career on that high note, they continued touring until 1999 then began an extended hiatus until 2007, when Northey, Elliott, and Steward eventually regrouped, with Atkinson replacing founding member Steven Drake, to begin the second chapter with the 2008 release, Cheerleader. 

Over the years, the band has taken extended detours into the world of film and television (including soundtracks for The Kids In The Hall, and Brent Butt’s Corner Gas series), it sometimes seems as if their minds have been, as the song goes, “on other things.”  But now, after a series of EPs (compiled on the full-length release, Universal Remote) Odds are thrilled to finally unveil their long-awaited seventh studio album, Crash The Time Machine.

As the title implies, Crash The Time Machine finds the Odds firmly embracing the future and the possibilities of catharsis. It’s a vibrant painting of struggle and the community that both feeds it and transcends it. The band goes in new and exciting musical directions while retaining the dark ironic signature that has earned them a place in the hearts of listeners for over three decades. 

Change and adaptation even informed their approach to the writing and recording of Crash The Time Machine, which began in earnest nearly five years ago and developed over time at the band’s home studio, Doghouse Of Thunder, in North Vancouver.

After laying down most of the basic tracks, the band enlisted co-producer Steven Page in Syracuse, New York to help them sort it out. A good friend of the band since early 1990s, Page and Northey have remained frequent musical collaborators; Craig is a member of the Steven Page Trio, while Steven is no stranger to sitting in with the Odds and employing them in his recordings.

After collating their various musical explorations into a unified whole, Page and the Odds handed the whole thing to trusted mix engineer Paul Forgues, and the end result is a cohesive blend that redefines Odds music for 2023.

Musically, songs like “Winning Is Everything,” “Fall Guy,” “My Mind Is on Other Things” and the title track, evoke the same good, weird feeling of classic Odds. But while the music is still centered on the same two guitars, bass and drums approach they’ve employed since Neopolitan, the sonic palette now includes the occasional symphonic enhancements and electronic flourishes. Northey and Atkinson both work as scoring composers for film, television and e-games so those skills and textures have worked their way into the mix beginning with their 6th studio album “Universal Remote.” Northey is quick to champion the influence of Doug Elliott’s electronic explorations, some of which were heard recently on the Elliott / Northey side project “Bander.”

Page isn’t the Odds’ only musical friend helping out on Crash The Time Machine. The striking cover illustration comes courtesy of Rob Baker, a frequent musical collaborator and founding member of The Tragically Hip. Every Odds member is also a member of “Strippers Union” — a band formed by Northey and Baker and now three albums deep. Northey confirms that one of the album’s most hopeful songs, “Walk Among The Stars,” was inspired by their longtime friendship with “The Hip.” “It’s easy to decode that one if you’re a fan of either band” says Northey.

The urgent need for community, in what could best be described as “interesting times,” is a running theme on Crash The Time Machine. Odds embrace the awesome power of Now, while celebrating the friends we make along the way. 

 

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