Skip to content

Shapeshifting With Bahamas

Canadian indie-rocker Afie Jurvanen’s solo project, Bahamas is coming to Lucky Bar Sun., March 25
28011mondaymagPage10_Final-DSC_8183_DaveGillespie
Bahamas (Afie Jurvanen) is playing Lucky Bar, Sun., March 25.

“Bahamas” is a most fitting moniker for Canadian indie-rocker Afie Jurvanen’s solo project. Even competing for attention in the heat and fury of the South By Southwest (SXSW) event where some 2,000 acts take over Austin, Texas, for just a few frenetic days, Jurvanen is able to remain composed and relaxed.

“On this tour, I’m trying to put as little as possible between the audience and my songs,” Jurvanen says as we discuss his second album Barchords and the resulting tour that will bring him to Victoria on March 25. “We are touring with a smaller band than I had on the album — just me, a drummer (Jason Tait, from The Weakerthans) and a couple of back-up vocalists (Carleigh Aikins and Felicity Williams). The stripped down form of this band is really malleable. We respond to the atmosphere of the venue, be it an old church or a conference room . . . I’m able to extend certain portions of songs and contract others.”

He continues, “Don’t get me wrong. Anyone who has listened to Barchords will be able to recognize songs in their live skin . . . it’s not gonna be like a Bob Dylan show where the songs are completely unrecognizable until the chorus (laughs), but the songs will inevitably take on a different shape in a live setting.”

Barchords, the follow-up to 2009’s Polaris-nominated Pink Strat, marks an evolution in Jurvanen’s craft. A spare, though densely subtle meditation on love in both the splendor of its waxing and the resulting agony of its waning, Barchords is a testament to Jurvanen’s newfound approach to recording.

“Pink Strat came to be almost accidentally — it is essentially just a bunch of songs that I recorded with some friends which were later released as an album. Barchords is more intentional — much more focused. I could think bigger making this album; I thought more in terms of an entire narrative arc . . . it was less piecemeal. I was able to develop themes better as my vision was larger.”

Bahamas’ enlarged vision, combined with his proven ability to custom fit songs to any live setting, make for a powerful combination. While fans can expect to hear the album in its entirety, it will be interesting to hear how these songs choose to reveal themselves within the confines of Lucky Bar on Sunday night. M

 

Bahamas

Sun., March 25

Lucky Bar, doors at

8 pm, show at 9 pm

With Wake Owl

Tickets: $15 at Ditch, Lyle's and Ticketweb