I first came across The Ativans on one of my Bandcamp Discovery adventures. I feel like I was probably searching specifically within Canada as it’s a conveyor belt for amazing punk bands. The artwork for the seven track EP Hymns For Wizard’s Castle caught my eye with its cityscape imagery and straight clean lines. The band are a four piece from Calgary and Hymns For Wizard’s Castle is their second release after 2015’s Landlocked.
The EP begins with Don’t Know. This is a short and sweet song that really wets your appetite for the rest of the EP. It begins with a high tempo and has a garage punk feel to it with its buzzing guitars and distorted vocals. If you’re new to The Ativans this is a great taster of what to expect from the band. This is followed up by Without You. The guitars continue to buzz on the track but it has a cleaner production, making it fit nicely into the realm of pop punk. It also sounds as if there is more melody in the song. This is probably down to the slightly slower tempo of the song. Without You is about the aftermath of a relationship and seeing how well your ex-partner is doing by themselves. The third song, Means A Lot, is an instantly infectious track that will have you nodding your head and tapping your toes in no time at all. The track feels like an introspective one where the band’s lead singer looks deep down inside themselves and thinks about things they could have done better. The track also features some nice guitar solos that allow the band to show off their musical ability as well as giving an extra element to their sound.
Carmaggedon Chameleon is the track on Hymns For Wizard’s Castle that stands out the most. The song has a longer build that the previous three songs and when the vocals do come in they grab you immediately. There’s an added gruffness to the delivery that I adored, it gives the track an added bit of intensity which I think had been missing from the EP. The track is about the damage that cars are doing to the planet and how we’re all to blame for this. One thing I wish the song did have is more gang vocals on the chorus – it would have been so good. Next is Gavin’s Dad Is On Acid. I found myself singing along to the chorus of this one pretty quickly. Obviously, it’s about Gavin’s dad’s drug habits although hopefully it’s all fictional, rather than a true story. Regardless of whether the story is true or not, it’s a fun sing-along and does put a smile on my face.
The penultimate song is titled Garrison Cres.. The Ativans slow things back down slightly for this track, giving the EP a bit more variety. The song feels quite sombre overall but the band do manage to add catharsis to the chorus. The lead singer sings “it’s all that I’ve got left to give” as if they can finally admit it and it feels like a release. There is a fairly extended instrumental that leads towards the song’s final chorus that fills the song out nicely – I particularly enjoyed the bassline in that section of the song. Last up is the brilliantly titled Back To The Start. There’s a positivity oozing out of the track that I loved – I really enjoy when an EP or album finishes on a bright and positive note and Hymns For Wizard’s Castle certainly does that. It’s about learning from your mistakes and endeavouring to make yourself better, something we should all aim to do.
Carmaggedon Chameleon is the track on Hymns For Wizard’s Castle that stands out the most. The song has a longer build that the previous three songs and when the vocals do come in they grab you immediately. There’s an added gruffness to the delivery that I adored, it gives the track an added bit of intensity which I think had been missing from the EP. The track is about the damage that cars are doing to the planet and how we’re all to blame for this. One thing I wish the song did have is more gang vocals on the chorus – it would have been so good. Next is Gavin’s Dad Is On Acid. I found myself singing along to the chorus of this one pretty quickly. Obviously, it’s about Gavin’s dad’s drug habits although hopefully it’s all fictional, rather than a true story. Regardless of whether the story is true or not, it’s a fun sing-along and does put a smile on my face.
The penultimate song is titled Garrison Cres.. The Ativans slow things back down slightly for this track, giving the EP a bit more variety. The song feels quite sombre overall but the band do manage to add catharsis to the chorus. The lead singer sings “it’s all that I’ve got left to give” as if they can finally admit it and it feels like a release. There is a fairly extended instrumental that leads towards the song’s final chorus that fills the song out nicely – I particularly enjoyed the bassline in that section of the song. Last up is the brilliantly titled Back To The Start. There’s a positivity oozing out of the track that I loved – I really enjoy when an EP or album finishes on a bright and positive note and Hymns For Wizard’s Castle certainly does that. It’s about learning from your mistakes and endeavouring to make yourself better, something we should all aim to do.
I’m not sure why there was such a long time between Ativans releases but I’m sure this EP is more than worth the wait for long time listeners of the band. And if you’re new to the band, like me, then this is a great introduction to them and I’ll definitely be spending some time listening to the band’s previous release. Another great band from Canada!
Stream and download Hymns For Wizard’s Castle on Bandcamp here.
Like The Ativans on Facebook here.
This review was written by Colin Clark.
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