Minotaurs

After spending years keeping his true musical passion at bay, Nathan Lawr transcends indie rock for the Afrobeat-inspired funk grooves of The Thing. As a drummer for Royal City, Feist, Jim Guthrie and FemBots, among others, Lawr has exhibited remarkable feel, infusing the most seemingly straightforward white rock beats with swing and panache, as though he was all but dancing in his seat. His approach is partially due to his deep interest in the music of other cultures ― a United Nations of rhythm flows through Lawr's brain, even if much of his collaborative efforts and folk rock solo work haven't drawn from it. With the gifted hands and encouragement of producer and fellow drummer Don Kerr, Lawr has thrown caution to the wind, rebuilding his Minotaurs into an all-star jazz funk orchestra whose soaring horns, sunny guitar stabs and bouncy rhythms are meant to shake you up and get you down. Gone are the doe-eyed romantic platitudes of a charming rascal, as Lawr has instead tapped into his nuanced thoughts on socio-political causes and issues for subject matter. The result is a curiously dark set of songs, which are packaged in ass-shaking, instrumental cases, subtly parcelling out joy and rage in ambitious swoops. Engagingly provocative lyrically and stirring musically, The Thing is Lawr's uncompromising masterwork.