Poacher.

Poacher, are an indie-rock three piece from London, Ontario, leaning a bit more heavily on the rock than the indie. With a lot of emphasis on paying homage to their routes and doing music the old-fashioned way (road trips, garage rehearsals, less time spent in the recording studio than out doing gigs), they’ve carved out a decent little niche for themselves in a hugely-populated genre-so we’re giving you the chance to enjoy one of their finer singles, Heroic.

As you’ll have probably guessed by now, I have a huge soft spot for everything with the words “indie” and “rock” in any combination in the title. Coming in at almost four and a half minutes, this number practically falls under the symphonic label. It’s got a wonderfully languid, angsty beat to it, almost in Waltz time, one that manages to set itself apart from the general agonised wailing of so many bands in this overpopulated genre.

The guitar is great; solid, confident, elegant and unobtrusive, it’s not been forced to the front of the mix simply because it’s carrying the melody, nor is it stuck at the back of an over-complicated combination of pointless twiddly bits. The lyrics are more than decent and given a whole heap of meaning by the confident, competent vocals. It’s powerful, assured and makes a really good case for Poacher as a strong addition to the indie music scene. - Earsplitter UK