Handsome Devils: The Beauties swagger, twang and thrill

Every Sunday in west Toronto, those in the know forget the next day is Monday and queue at the Dakota Tavern at 10 pm to lose themselves for the next four hours in the music of The Beauties. Late last year Alan Davey had the pleasure of witnessing them in full flow.

Formed as a duo in 2006 by guitarist/vocalist Shawn Creamer and guitarist Jud Ruhl at the Paddock Lounge in Toronto, they eventually expanded into a five piece, taking up a Sunday night residency at the Dakota. Word of mouth spread fast, and soon lines were formed round the block to get into the shows – three sets going on until late, from thrash country standards to their own material, and guest slots from the likes of Ron Sexsmith, Serena Ryder, Kathleen Edwards, Justin Rutledge or any number of other talented denizens of Toronto who happen to be about.

Their self titled record released through Six Shooter is a wonder of rock and roll energy with a subtle colouring of musicianship that goes well beyond standard urban twang. Starting with the cool, insouciant irony of ‘Fashion Blues’ – a wry look at the trendy end of rock from the confident, ironic stance of having ‘no style’ . Then the signature ‘Without You’ – an infectious guitar hook of audacious twang introduces a song of the panicky failure of adult life. The guitar based voodoo stomp of Holly Golightly’s ‘Devil Do’ follows – a song they make an anthem to hedonism and the dark side of life; the anguished gothic menace of ‘Heart of Stone’ – regret for unspoken sins towards a wife and son, a plea to the listener not to cry before the light is turned out – a compressed tale of horror and regret; the joyous thrash of ‘Die Die Die’; the brooding electronic sounds and menacing whispered vocals of ‘Heaviest of the World’; finally to the swaggering drunken chorus finale of ‘You and Me’. This is a joyous album that flies from the speakers and ransoms your soul. It’s as if they’ve absorbed all eras of rock and roots and country heritage to produce something timeless, with urban swagger and intelligence. It defies easy categorisation.Listening to it first time, you get an immediate impression of a live performance. But, in all its glory, it’s the merest representation as to how they are live.

The first time I saw them was at the Cadillac Lounge, where it was around one in the morning when they took the stage. ‘Without you’ twanged and rocked with such audacious energy and tightness you can only laugh in astonishment. Playing mostly the songs from the album, they were joined by Justin Rutledge (who had loaned them a guitar for the night , and for whom they sometimes act as backing band) for a loping, spacious version of Wilco’s ‘California Stars’. It is clear they are a band who know how good they are – like thoroughbreds they love to do what they know they do well.

After their swaggering performance I asked Shawn Creamer what kind of band do they think they are? Does ‘Alt Country’ do it? “No. It’s rock and roll”, he insists, “that’s what we are. Sure we do alt-country stuff but they are just good songs. We love all the twang but we’re not just a country band. It gets annoying when people try and pigeon hole us like that, you know in awards and things.” He’s right – they are much more than that, but then they are that as well as a lot of other things. They have huge twang and rock swagger, cranking up the guitars when they need to.

Backstage before one of their regular shows at the Dakota, the atmosphere is one of studied preparation. Jud, the tall rangy guitarist, is learning a song they are going to cover that night through the earphones of his iPod. There’s a huge expectancy in the air from the packed Dakota crowd as they take the stage for their first set – a series of thrashing country numbers that gets the crowd dancing. You get the impression people have been waiting for this all week. Screw the fact it’s Sunday. Screw the fact you need to catch a flight to England at dawn. You can’t leave before they’ve done wringing your emotions and ears, and made you dance.

The second set is an electrifying romp through their own material, which the crowd go wild over. For the third set they are joined by Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene for ‘Cruel Outside’, and ‘Last night in the City’ , then by Dani Nash from The Sure Things, to sing a couple of her country tinged songs with thoughtful backing from the band.

Leaving at 2.30 am with the prospect of two hours sleep before the sad flight home and work the day after, I know I could never have missed this. The Beauties are better than any band deserves to be, representing a musical, lyrical dark side that needs to be felt and heard.

As Justin Rutledge says of the band he loves to play with:

“For me, they embody the letting go of things. Just knowing there are bands like them out there helps me sleep better at night because they believe that good music still matters.”

It’s time for the UK to let go and embrace the Beauties, the handsome, devilish dark side of Toronto’s musical life. Lets hope we’ll get that chance soon.

Download The Beauties- Without You :