ROCK PLAZA CENTRAL, PORTUGAL. THE MAN, TRACTOR OPERATOR
(Berbati’s Pan, 10 SW 3rd) Led by novelist Chris Eaton, Rock Plaza Central is a Toronto ensemble whose albums feel less like linear narratives than hallucinatory meditations on a theme. 2006’s Are We Not Horses served as the junction of rapturous vocals, buoyant horns, and crashing guitars. Listen closely enough, though, and surreal lyrical perspectives on religion, technology, and relationships become apparent. On previous albums, the group’s wide-ranging sensibilities have been applied to more directly personal narratives, creating detailed and harrowing portraits and landscapes. Eaton’s voice is equally capable at channeling desperation and a heartbreaking strain of loneliness, and the unpredictability of the group as a whole makes their live show, at its best, gripping. TC

Hey, you in the back, stop fucking yawning! What does that say about your band? “We’re so boring that I can’t even refrain from yawning during our… YAWWWNNNNNN. Oh sorry, where was I?”

MP3:
Rock Plaza Central - My Children, Be Joyful