"So the clothing turns into armour / I'm slowly taking on water just call me back in the morning..."
"Bag Down" by Toronto’s Pleasure Craft upon inspection (yeah, I know you should never inspect art but just experience it) is a mish mash of emotional and sonic tones that on the face would seem to mix like oil and water. The perfectly measured machine beat and pushed synth stabs (or vocoder or voice) feel like funk pop ala The Gap Band worth of a bedazzled cod piece and the heavy industrial synth caustic and dense, offset by female vox that feel jazzy pop seem inexplicably counter intuitive. Sam Lewis' croons are self aware, do wink at you, but feel a bit like they exist in a machismo bar somewhere in Burbank (Cali). I would think that these disparate sort of kitschy elements would get stick in my skin rather than sink underneath it but everything works and works well.
Key in this all working and creating such a dense artistic sound is Lewis's performance and that of bandmate / collaborator Mingjia Chen and her magnetic vocal aesthetic. Lewis writes the songs in raw form and his talent at assembling and recognizing talented bandmates / collaborators is key. On this track you experience the talents of Lewis as songwriter, lead vox, production with backing vox by the aforementioned, Mingjia Chen, Ben Green on drums, River Radcliffe on guitar and finally mixed by Andrew Feels and mastered by Philip Bova. The final piece of art is coalesced by all involved adding their input and artistic perception articulated in service of the song.
Important details from press notes:
[Lewis says the song is an introduction to a character: he’s egotistical, aggressive, over-the-top and performative, but carrying around a suppressed, locked-up version of himself. “Saying that I have my bag down to me is saying I’ve got my shit together, I’m confident, I’m the best,” says Lewis. “It’s this contrast between what I’m feeling and what I’m performing for the world.”
The accompanying video for “Bag Down” was shot in Sudbury, Ontario and directed by Shawn Cosmo from a concept created by Lewis and Dexter Nash. Filmed in black and white to communicate a lack of nuance and expression, it features Lewis in what he calls a “stereotypical masculine cowboy vibes” fit, strutting around town with a suitcase in hand. A contorted Lewis is crushed inside the suitcase, while Mingjia’s phantom face flits in and out of frame, translucent and glitchy. Lewis explains that Mingjia’s character represents a “perceived threat,” an insidious voice of paranoia at the beginning of a narrative arc: “Everybody hates me, I can’t get close to anyone,” says Lewis.]
The accompanying video for “Bag Down” was shot in Sudbury, Ontario and directed by Shawn Cosmo from a concept created by Lewis and Dexter Nash. Filmed in black and white to communicate a lack of nuance and expression, it features Lewis in what he calls a “stereotypical masculine cowboy vibes” fit, strutting around town with a suitcase in hand. A contorted Lewis is crushed inside the suitcase, while Mingjia’s phantom face flits in and out of frame, translucent and glitchy. Lewis explains that Mingjia’s character represents a “perceived threat,” an insidious voice of paranoia at the beginning of a narrative arc: “Everybody hates me, I can’t get close to anyone,” says Lewis.]
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
https://www.pleasurecraftto.com/
https://www.facebook.com/samlewis.to/
https://www.instagram.com/pleasurecraftmusic/
https://soundcloud.com/pleasurecraftmusic
Pleasure Craft, which Lewis began in 2017 as a solo project, operates as a band in a loose sense: Lewis helms and writes demos for the songs, which he exports to bandmates Mingjia, guitarist River Radcliffe, and drummer Ben Green to add their respective parts. Lewis’ goal in assembling collaborators wasn’t to find musicians to follow his vision, but rather ones whose own vision would create something new, stronger than the sum of its parts. As a result, the tracks Lewis receives back are radically different—and better—than the demos he sends out.
This idiosyncrasy is one of Pleasure Craft’s most impressive and intriguing elements. Each Pleasure Craft show is likely to have a different lineup—Lewis explains that he’s never played two consecutive gigs with the same band. Yet the project’s musical and thematic identity is singular and unmistakable: it pinballs between new wave, alt-pop, synth, and indie rock with punkish sarcasm and staggering technical precision. Tying it all together is Lewis’ narration, at times a sneering drawl and others a belting howl, always sifting through what it means—and does not mean—to be a person raised and socialized as a man in 21st century North America.
Lewis says that previous Pleasure Craft releases, including 2019’s fantastic, raucous Ep2, were
experimental, serving as “practice records” while zeroing in on a solid identity. On “Bag Down,” that identity emerges with slicked-back hair, dripping in bravado and clad in a muscle top. If threatened, it’s prepared to throw fists on the disco ball dance floor at a grimey downtown club. But for both Pleasure Craft and the character in “Bag Down,” this is just the beginning. Stay tuned.
Pleasure Craft, indie rock, alternative rock, synth rock, jazz tones, experimental tones, art rock tones, "Bag Down", Official Video, brainchild, Sam Lewis, singer songwriter, divergent rock, divergent pop,
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
https://www.pleasurecraftto.com/
https://www.facebook.com/samlewis.to/
https://www.instagram.com/pleasurecraftmusic/
https://soundcloud.com/pleasurecraftmusic
Pleasure Craft, which Lewis began in 2017 as a solo project, operates as a band in a loose sense: Lewis helms and writes demos for the songs, which he exports to bandmates Mingjia, guitarist River Radcliffe, and drummer Ben Green to add their respective parts. Lewis’ goal in assembling collaborators wasn’t to find musicians to follow his vision, but rather ones whose own vision would create something new, stronger than the sum of its parts. As a result, the tracks Lewis receives back are radically different—and better—than the demos he sends out.
This idiosyncrasy is one of Pleasure Craft’s most impressive and intriguing elements. Each Pleasure Craft show is likely to have a different lineup—Lewis explains that he’s never played two consecutive gigs with the same band. Yet the project’s musical and thematic identity is singular and unmistakable: it pinballs between new wave, alt-pop, synth, and indie rock with punkish sarcasm and staggering technical precision. Tying it all together is Lewis’ narration, at times a sneering drawl and others a belting howl, always sifting through what it means—and does not mean—to be a person raised and socialized as a man in 21st century North America.
Lewis says that previous Pleasure Craft releases, including 2019’s fantastic, raucous Ep2, were
experimental, serving as “practice records” while zeroing in on a solid identity. On “Bag Down,” that identity emerges with slicked-back hair, dripping in bravado and clad in a muscle top. If threatened, it’s prepared to throw fists on the disco ball dance floor at a grimey downtown club. But for both Pleasure Craft and the character in “Bag Down,” this is just the beginning. Stay tuned.
Pleasure Craft, indie rock, alternative rock, synth rock, jazz tones, experimental tones, art rock tones, "Bag Down", Official Video, brainchild, Sam Lewis, singer songwriter, divergent rock, divergent pop,
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