The Mandevilles

Their name will probably mean nothing to you, but you should lend an ear to this new Canadian band! Composed of Serena Pryne, Nick Lesyk, Laslo Taylor, Brett Bendo and newcomer Waylon Glintz, the band The Mandevilles offers a bite of rock n ‘roll combined with a touch of country (One Man Band), which blends joyful pop and roots . Produced by the renowned Garth Richardson (Rage Against The Machine, Biffy Clyro) and recorded in Vancouver, the album doesn’t scatter in all directions, allowing the Torontonians to follow the path without losing their plot. They also have a unique way of writing songs such that the chorus remains in our mind and keeps its punch (listen to the songs Hangovers, Windows and Stones or I Stole Your Band to convince yourself). The singer, Serena Pryne’s voice, has within it a passion for life and urgency to bare her emotions, even if she knows how to be milder sometimes (Don't Ask).

Son nom ne vous probablement rien, mais vous devriez tendre l’oreille à cette nouvelle formation canadienne! Composé de Serena Pryne, Nick Lesyk, Taylor Laslo et Brett Bendo et du petit nouveau Waylon Glintz, le band The Mandevilles propose un rock n’ roll mordant jumelé à un brin de country (One Man Band), où se mêlent pop joyeuse et roots. Réalisé par le célèbre Garth Richardson (Rage Against The Machine, Biffy Clyro) et enregistré à Vancouver, le disque ne s’éparpille pas dans toutes les directions, ce qui permet aux Torontois de ne pas se perdre et de suivre la trajectoire qu’ils se sont tracée. Ils ont également une façon unique d’écrire des chansons qui fait que les refrains nous restent en tête et ont du punch (écoutez seulement les titres Hangovers, Windows and Stones ou I Stole Your Band pour vous en convaincre). Il y a dans la voix de la chanteuse Serena Pryne une rage de vivre, une urgence de mettre à nu ses émotions; et ce, même si elle sait se faire parfois plus douce (Don’t Ask). - SERGE LARIVIÈRE

Niagara rock band The Mandevilles have paid so many dues, they’re due for a refund.

Singer Serena Pryne and her longtime guitarist Nick Lesyk have been banging on doors and killing it in clubs for well over a decade, going back to their time as Welland-based metal band Oliver Black. Now with a new line-up, growing fan base, and supportive record label, they’re feeling those lean years were worth it.

“There have been dark times,” says the radiant singer as she takes a counter seat at the Regal Diner in Niagara Falls. “But we’ve pretty much figured out how to balance things now. We’re in our ‘30s, for the most part. We can have a good time, but we’re also really focussed on our work.”

Right now, work revolves around Windows and Stones, the band’s third full-length album. Recorded in Vancouver last year with producer Garth Richardson (Nickelback, Rage Against the Machine), it’s the sound of a polished band hitting its creative stride.

It’s also the most relaxed and pensive they’ve ever sounded. While fun rockers like Hangovers keep the party going, Pryne pours herself into emotional tracks like Don’t Ask and The One, processing a recent relationship which went south.

“Relationships just kill me, and I tend to write about that kind of stuff,” she says. “I need that cleansing experience when writing. Our songs are probably not the happiest, but they make me feel better at the end of the day.

“Sometimes I listen to stuff and it still makes me cry. I wept like a baby just the other night, playing in Huntsville.”

“It was sad to see you cry…but that was awesome,” cracks drummer Brett Bendo.

Bendo and bassist Waylon Glintz joined the band a year and a half ago, rounding out a unit which includes guitarist Taylor Laslo. Lesyk feels it’s the first Mandevilles disc in which the music is fully in sync “with what the vocals are doing.”

Which comes from years of touring, playing and basically living together. Long known as one of the hardest working bands in Niagara, they’ve toured across Canada, into the U.S. and overseas. All without a record label or agent, until now. The band scored an agent during a CD release show at The Rivoli in Toronto this week, and earlier this year signed on with country label MDM Recordings, owned by former Niagara-on-the-Lake resident Mike Denney.

“The support’s been awesome from them, even though we’re not the typical act on their label at all,” says Pryne.

“We were at the point where there was nothing to lose,” adds Lesyk. “If they didn’t like what we were doing, we’d just keep doing our own thing anyways.”

“At the end of the day, I’d rather be happy than anything else.”

Pryne chuckles at people who think The Mandevilles are living a glamorous rock lifestyle. When they come back from touring, it’s back to the grind.

“We come back and we go back to our jobs, and our cover gigs that we do to make money. To make The Mandevilles. People go, ‘How’d you get that opportunity?’ Well, because we’re busting our asses, that’s why.” - JOHN LAW

Ce band ontarien fait dans un registre rock à forte influence country. La chanteuse Serena Pryne, de sa voix éraillée, et ses quatre partenaires, arrivent plutôt bien à marier les deux styles sans nécessairement tomber dans le rock-country à l’américaine. Voici ce que je retiens de ce nouvel album des Mandevilles, intitulé Windows dans Stones.

Dès la première seconde, on instaure un rythme énergique et accrocheur sur Hangovers. La chanson a une tendance visiblement commerciale (remarquez, comme presque toute chanson qui parle de lendemains de veille), mais c’est heureusement un peu plus subtil sur les autres pistes, comme sur Runaway.

L’intro a capella de I Stole Your Band manque de volume au mixage, et si l’énergie de la chanson est intéressante, le refrain me semble moins accrocheur que le reste. Selon moi, une piste plus faible de l’opus.

La première ballade de l’album est Don’t Ask. Une chanson lente mais solide, avec une voix émotive et rauque à souhait, que demander de plus? Cela nous amène ensuite à Windows and Stones, pièce-titre de l’album. Cette fois, c’est le drum au début qui manque un peu de volume. Sinon, la chanson mélange bien les grooves lentes et discrètes, elles celles plus rock et énergiques. Le fait qu’elle représente bien ces deux énergies présentes sur l’album justifie bien qu’elle lui donne son nom.

Après quelques pistes rock-americana, une chanson a attiré mon attention : Love Is Like a Stranger. Une autre piste un peu plus lente (quoique tout de même énergique par moments), mais tellement poignante. En plus, la guitare complimente bien la voix de la chanteuse. The One va encore plus loin dans le concept de chanson triste, quoi qu’elle restera un peu moins en tête.

La 10e et dernière chanson, One Man Band, est probablement la plus country de tout le lot. Au menu, banjo et violon au premier plan. Une fin qui équilibre un peu le tout avec les premières chansons plus mainstream de l’opus.

Cela donne 40 minutes de musique qui passent, somme toute, assez rapidement. On croit sentir des influences nombreuses, comme peut-être Shania Twain sur certaines pistes. Au niveau musical, la principale faiblesse est le mixage de certains instruments, que j’ai soulevé plus haut. Note importante : même si le band se décrit comme rock’n’roll avant tout, les influences country et americana sont trop fortes pour qu’on les néglige. Il faut donc savoir apprécier ce style musical pour pouvoir pleinement savourer les chansons de l’album Windows and Stones.

À écouter : Don’t Ask, Windows and Stones, Love Is Like a Stranger

7,4/10 - Olivier Dénommée

Mike Denney’s MDM logo on any record usually means just one thing – country music. Yet check out “Hangovers”, the first track on The Mandevilles’ `Windows And Stones’ release and you will know instantly that this isn’t your Mam And Dad’s usual country music album.

Instead you have a straight out anthemic rocker with the band’s lead singer Serena Pryne’s lyrical ode to the workingman getting ready to get loose on the weekend.

“We wanted to launch the record with a song that’s indicative of our band’s new musical direction,” said Pryne over the phone, sounding a little hoarse after four nights of consecutive singing. “I know we are supposed to be on a country label but Mike (Denney) believed in our direction 100%. He was cool with what we are doing and even though the songs are a little more rock n roll than what he probably expected. I am sure some of the people on the label were initially a little scared by what we were doing, but now they’ve heard the record and have grasped the idea we have made a rock record and that we are a rock band.”

The architect behind The Mandeville’s more mainstream rock sound is ace producer Gggarth Richardson (Rage Against The Machine, Mudvayne) who encouraged the band’s hard-edged direction. “Initially, we were a little apprehensive because we thought that because we were signed to a country music label, Gggarth would want to push us in that direction,” explained Pryne. “But once we started playing the songs for him, he instantly knew we had a rock record and that was the direction he pushed us in.”

Certainly songs like the aforementioned “Hangovers”, “Runaway”, “Come Around” and “Windows And Stones” have a Georgia Satellites’ country rock quality to them and Pryne’s own blues origins lend a powerful melodic quality to intense ballads like “Don’t Ask” and “The One”. There’s even a flash of humour in “I Stole Your Band” which lends itself to Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats”.

“Funny but I never drew that comparison when I was writing the lyrics,” laughed Pryne. “But a few people have pointed out the song’s lyrical resemblance. My dad originally thought the song was called “I Stole Your Van” and I had to say, “No dad, that’s band not van.”

Vocally compared to the likes of Janis Joplin, Pryne personally has an affinity for 1970′s British boozer bands like Steve Marriot’s Small Faces or Rod Stewart‘s Faces. “It would be a honour to be compared to those bands,” she reflected. “And yes, I have an affinity for alcohol, I always have one shot for the stage.”

Welland, Ontario native Pryne and guitarist cohort Nick Lesyk had spent some 13 years together trying to formulate a distinctive musical direction. They come by their rock roots honestly by performing in a hard rock band called Oliver Black before gravitating towards a more country music direction. The pair launched Serena Pryne and the Mandevilles, recording an indie album titled “Goodnight Golden Sun” in 2012 which was more in the style of a MDM release.

“We were involved with a number of co-writers who were pushing us in a more country direction and our rhythm section at the time was definitely country and that’s what came out on the record, but we were struggling at that time to find the right direction,” stated Pryne. “Mike (Denney) liked what he heard, initially distributed our indie record and then got fully behind our new project.”

Dropping the Serena Pryne tag and marketing the band as just The Mandevilles, the new lineup, which now featured guitarist Taylor Lasko, Brett Bendo on drums and Waylon Glinz on bass along with Pryne and Lesyk gathered at The Farm Studios in Vancouver with all five members helping in the writing process. “It was something Gggarth encouraged,” explained Pryne. “Whoever came up with the best idea, we’d go with it. As a result there were a lot of co-writes between the band. Gggarth himself said we would get a co-credit on the production because it was a group effort in the recording process. We came out of it feeling that this was a fresh start. It felt like The Mandevilles were a new band and this was our first record.”

Fiercely independent, Pryne and Lesyk, had funded their debut indie record, and for the new project, employed the Pledge Music system to raise additional capital. “We were shitting our pants for a while,” admitted Pryne. “You only have a certain amount of time to raise the funds, and when we went on a tour of England last year, we still hadn’t raised our target. But while we were playing in Manchester, we heard that someone had pledged $1,000 and had taken us over the top.”

The funds raised paid for approximately half of the production costs with the band working with their label the fund the balance. “As much as I hate raising money,” explained Pryne. “It’s important that we retain control of the recording process and do things our way.”

Pryne agrees that it’s currently easier to succeed under a country music banner than being a straight rock n roll act, yet the Mandevilles are quite happy to ride a fence between both country and rock music.

“To be honest, I don’t quite know where we fit in with MDM” allowed Pryne. “When we see and hear all the labels other acts we feel like odd ducks but Mike (Denney) believes in us and has allowed us to pursue a rock music direction. We do feel there is a bit of a country influence in there and what pisses me off is when all these new bands are critical of us, saying we’re a rock band trying to sound country. They don’t know what they are talking about. All the classic rock bands have sung country songs; The Rolling Stones (“Dead Flowers), the Beatles (“Rocky Raccoon”), Led Zeppelin (‘The Battle Of Evermore”), they’ve sung Motown and other influences too. That’s what makes them classic rock bands.”

So if she had a choice, would Serena Pryne rather play the Boots N Hearts country music festival with Miranda Lambert or Kitchener’s Big Fest with Aerosmith. “Good question,” replied Pryne. “I’d like to think we could play either and we could play at Boots N Hearts on the right day, but I’d take playing alongside Steven Tyler any day.” - KEITH SHARP