by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
After a few years playing together around Canada and the Pacific Northwest, Vancouver’s Megamall have released their debut EP, Escape From Lizard City. Out now via Fanta Records, the band (which includes members of Supermoon and Dumb among others), play a catchy strain of indie rock that’s as indebted to 90’s alternative rock as it is lo-fi pop. The songs are catchy and jangly, but there’s a muscular fuzz at the core, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of the days when The Breeders, Pixies, and Garbage ruled the radio.
“The Bug,” one of the EP’s stand-out moments has a dreamy texture, with a rhythm that glides beneath twin guitars. The tempo remains upbeat and steady, bouncing along as the guitars do their best to cut through the fog, accenting delightfully melodic vocal harmonies that wander within their own structures and a wave of piercing interjections. The computer animated and charmingly pixelated video takes the band into the world of retro gaming, with mass destruction via fireballs and laser beams, alien abductions, and eventually, dinosaurs. It’s pretty damn great and while lo-fi in terms of tech, you can tell a great deal of work went into it.
The video’s director, Steve Roste, shared:
"Working with Megamall on this video was a no-brainer pleasure. We met for coffee and talked about battling dinosaurs and natural disasters, naturally segueing into our shared struggle for survival in Vancouver and our shared interest in millennium-era simulation games. Transporting the band into this world was done with a lot of capture in Google Maps and Earth, using a neural network trained on pixelated art for the style transfer."