Quick Hitters:: The Danks

Ok, if you're in Canada like us, you're thinking "I've made it past Wednesday, all I need now is something to bridge the gap until the weekend". If you're one of our American friends you are thinking "Mmmm turkey...Obama...USA best again...". If you are Norwegian you are thinking "God damn, open faced sandwiches are the best!". Or so I assume. Anyway, if you are someone looking for something to get you to the weekend, we have it for you in the form of peppy Prince Edward Islanders The Danks.

This island-bred foursome has concocted a formula that, like the red soil from their home province - which shows up in the crevices of your car months after you leave, stays with you. The formula would appear to be equal parts enthusiasm, Two Hours Traffic-like melodies, and the downright indie-danceability of acts like The Coast, Ruby Coast, or any other coast-related band from Ontario that is currently making the kids cut a rug. The THT similarities are no surprise, given that both bands not only hail from PEI, but two of the Danks, Alec O’Hanley and Andrew MacDonald, also happen to be members of THT.

The Danks are planning to release an album early next year, but in the interim they've released Samples, a seven song EP designed to simultaneously introduce themselves and do some whistle-wetting for their next release. They certainly succeed on both counts. I'm fairly certain you'll find yourself nodding along from the opening trap-kicks and riffs of Treaty Connector, through an all-to-brief fifteen minutes and change, to the melodic acoustics of I Mean, Come On. I mean, come on (sorry!), if the drum-thump and handclap combo on Sold Me Out doesn't get you moving, it might be time for the patented Herohill Pulse Check™. And are those horns I hear at the end of I Got Nothing? Yes? I approve of that.

It's likely that The Danks are currently the least-known of the bands in the recently formed Collagen Rock label/posse (THT, Mardeen, Smothered In Hugs), but if their full-length turns out to be as consistently solid as Samples, that is sure to change. So go ahead and have a taste, why not get in on the ground floor?