Pop Montreal presents Pop Off 2 w/ Jane Vain and Valleys
w/ James Struthers
$8 (+$2.50 tx & sc) - Buy your tickets for this show here!
Doors at 8pm, show at 9pm

One hundred shows after the well-received Rectangle Records debut release, Jamie reassembled herself with former band mate, Markus Lake (bass) and took up the guitar, pouring herself into twelve songs that represent a change in direction for her both personally and musically. Aggressive, reverb-soaked guitar lines replace bubbling keyboards. Live drums replace electronic beats. Jane Vain recently finished recording and mixing the second full length album Give Us Your Hands, which is set for release in early summer. With the contributions and aid of musicians Nathan Curry (guitar) and Charlie Neufield (drums), Jane Vain is getting set to showcase this beautifully dense, noisy pop album across Canada this summer.

"Valleys are an amazing revelation—a band that makes me imagine what it might have been like to see The Swans back in their heyday, if you replaced Michael Gira with a ethereal young female with a deceptive, awesome power." - SOUND PROOF MAGAZINE (live review - Halifax Pop X)

“… (Valleys) live experience was truly exciting, though, because each song seemed to be unpredictable from moment to moment. In one five-minute song, the group could sound like Glenn Branca’s early-80s guitar experiments and the minimalist American composers of the 70s. There was never a single moment where one could suspect a mapped out structure – everything seemed sonically and emotionally real…more a suggestion of melody rather than the blatant expression of it. This worked staggeringly well for the band.” – SINGING LAMB (NXNE live review)

If you’re not from Winnipeg, you might not have heard of James Struthers. Hell, even if you are from Winnipeg it’s still possible that you haven’t heard of him – but you will, very soon. James Struthers is the young man that sold out the historic Pyramid Cabaret for his first headlining gig, the CD release party for his debut EP, Nadia. Having only begun performing solo in May 2009, Struthers is turning heads of listeners and industry pundits alike with his seemingly over-night rise to local stardom. A technically skilled guitarist and incredibly gifted vocalist, Struthers is already drawing comparisons to modern day greats like John Mayer and Jason Mraz, even being referred to as a male Feist on more than one occasion. Struthers’ six-song April 2010 release, Nadia, evokes an intensely personal artistic expression of first love. Walking the listener through the experience, from child-like naivety, through the excitement, anticipation and joy of romance, to the caverns of heartbreak and loneliness, Nadia plays out like a great Shakespearean tragedy, related to by anyone who has had their heart broken (or broken someone else’s).