Monday, November 26, 2012

Isabelle Dunlop Pop Up Shop





On December first Isabelle Dunlop will be revisiting the old Birkeland Bros Shop and holding a second pop up at 3573 Main St.  She will be displaying her definitive wool scarves and shawls as well as a small selection of individual coats and dresses

The shop will open this Weekend - Dec 1st - at Noon until 5PM. 

If you cannot make it within those hours please contact Isabelle Dunlop to book an appointment.
email:  isabelledunlop@gmail.com

Video shot and edited by M R Henning
music provided by Combine the Victorious

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Georgia Straight Review of Crumbling Hearts EP


Music » Recordings

Combine the Victorious bucks recent trends with Crumbling Hearts

By Mike Usinger,
Crumbling Hearts (Independent)
For whatever reason, there aren’t a lot of synth-pop artists these days hitting the dance floor in a mood that could loosely be defined as melancholy. At the moment, no one wants to be bummed out like Depeche Mode or Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark—they’re more into hitting the same glitzy, beautiful-people parties as Crystal Castles and the Golden Filter.

Combine the Victorious bucks that trend on its five-song Crumbling Hearts EP. The band’s name suggests one of those Hitler-haired Victory Records emover acts that were all the rage a half-decade ago. What you get, though, is retro-tinted dance music guaranteed to resonate with those who spend far too much time alone in their lonely bedrooms, watching a cellphone that never seems to ring.
Like, say, Depeche Mode, Combine the Victorious doesn’t sound completely fixated on wallowing in self-pity. As coolly detached as the duo—Isabelle Dunlop and Mark Henning—is, there’s an ethereal underside to the unrepentantly synthetic title track and the ghostly “Glasgow”. The EP’s standout is “California State of Mind”, on which an elastic bass line and squelch-city percussion serve as the backdrop for a sun-kissed reminiscence of a road trip to the state where it never seems to rain. Amazingly, Combine the Victorious manages to make that sound melancholy, although maybe not enough to make anyone forget OMD.


Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Rob Edmonds paints We Are Local Pop Up

The illustrious Robert Edmonds has just painted the front window of the We Are Local pop up shop on Main Street here in Vancouver.  He is the first of six local artists that will be designing the front window display to the store, a new one each week.  Today he was putting the finishing touches on the window, a transfer of one of his "Day At the Races" series, made life sized on glass.

It will only be up for one week so please make a note to look up at 2539 Main St (Main and 10th), the site of the Whoa!  Nellie Bike Shop (who have graciously provided the space and temporarily moved upstairs).


The We Are Local pop up shop will feature gift boxes that will contain items from over 60 local businesses, apparently there will packages available for guys, gals, grey sky days, hipsters and more.  Drop in and find out more.






Monday, November 5, 2012

Successful Return from Europe (new video too)

Combine the Victorious released their new Crumbling Hearts EP in Stockholm last month.  The show at Bonden Bar was a wonderful success with a young and greatly enthusiastic crowd giving a glowing reception.   A return is being planned. 

While there, they recorded some of their favorite views of that beautiful city.  This new video is the result of those adventures in Sweden.  


Good friends Sex With Strangers have also returned from their second east coast tour: winning contests in Toronto and making their second appearance at CMJ in New York.  Most importantly SWS have just made their brand new album "Behaviors" listenable on bandcamp