Heliopause

Hailing from Northern Ireland by way of Brighton, England, Heliopause hit the back room of the Cameron House for a quant presentation of soft and lovelorn shoegazer ditties for what would be the last stop on a Canadian mini-tour. Travelling light with two guitars, a laptop and vast collection of guitar pedals, the soft-spoken duo combined the restrained sounds of reverb-rich finger plucking, effect-laden electric guitar washes and on-again, off-again digital rhythms for a collection of songs you could imagine watching the stars to. Touches of sublime vocal harmonies added further depth to the set's already established dreaminess, while a characteristically late-'90s alt-rock drone helped -- for better or worse -- to further place the group's music among the works of fellow "sad bastard" affiliates many of us probably look back on with mixed emotions. Though sparsely attended, the show was greeted by the polite applause of an audience seemingly caught under the introspective spell of the twosome's sullen moods. While perhaps better suited to a dimly lit bedroom during a time of quiet reflection, Heliopause were a tougher sell on a Friday night at a rock club on Toronto's bustling Queen Street West.