CMW 2012: Christien Summers @ The Drake Underground by Cody McGraw

THURSDAY – Over the past few Canadian Music Weeks, we've come to realize that this is where we usually find the soundtrack to the rest of our year – a few bands we can really root for. It’s a big part of why we love CMW; why it's worth the loss of sleep, eye bags and severe liver damage. This year, we've already discovered one band we can’t help but root for: Christien Summers. With slick disco beats and songs that ooze sex, they’re an absolute force of nature on stage, with a kind, happy demeanour you only get after marathon love-making.

The cozy Drake Underground quietly filled up as people were drawn in by the infectious songs off Christien Summers’ Cloud One EP. The team of Carol Lui on vocals and beat-provider Gareth Jones, as well as their backing musicians, played danceable songs such as “Shoot the Breeze” and the riotous “What’s Your Poison”. Those, along with a few new tracks, highlighted the too-short show and set the bar very high for the rest of the night. There’s no doubt that if the band's set was later, and more booze was in everyone’s systems, a full out dance party would have broken out and a lot of questionable decisions would have been made. As it was, the only questions on everyone’s mind was “Where the hell do I get their music?” and “When can I hear more?” Be patient, friends. There will be plenty more good stuff coming from this band. And we’ll be along for the ride.

MP3: Download the Cloud One EP for free here

Find all our coverage of Canadian Music Week 2012 here

Photos by Carmen Cheung

Cody McGraw is many things but the thing you can actually call him to his face is the Managing Editor of The Little Red Umbrella. See more posts from him here or follow him on Twitter (@cody_mcgraw).