dwi Free In-Store Performance at High Notes Coffee + Vinyl

dwi Free In-Store Performance at High Notes Coffee + Vinyl | 2057 Dundas Street West | Sat Nov 25 | 1pm

Vancouver’s @dwitunes (@thezolas bassist Dwight Abell) is making a stop at High Notes on Sat Nov 25th at 1pm for an exclusive in-store performance! We’ll be serving free coffee + treats during the show, & will be raffling copies of dwi’s “Zoo Life” album on vinyl to 3 lucky attendees! Space will be limited, so please arrive early to avoid disappointment.

“Zoo Life” is dwi’s very personal sophomore album that unpacks the hurt and trauma of his childhood spent in the Canadian foster care system and the myriad of ways we bury pain. The album is a catharsis, lyrically dark but with a danceability that suggests a brighter future.

dwi evokes Damon Albarn on the album’s title track, but instead of the peculiarities of English “Parklife”, “Zoo Life” explores how lonely and confusing it must be to be separated from those that birthed you and what that might mean for one’s identity. But while his childhood was one of trauma and abuse, “Party4One” recognizes the innocence and simplicity of youth (or perhaps the ease at which one could mask the pain at a young age with a pizza and controller in hand): “I’ll deep fake my old face / ‘Til lonеliness just fades away”. One of the highlights of the album is “Fear of Forever”, which tackles the sins of the father and existential dread. The track’s haunting strings would not be out of place as a 007 theme song, fitting for a childhood spent playing Goldeneye on the Nintendo 64. “Marker” explores artistic expression, inspiration, the past, and “originality”. But on the album’s closer, “Holes In My Story”, there is a call back to this idea. Here, dwi interrogates the memories that he locked away, questioning the past and its effect on the Now. It ends with an announcement from within the “zoo” playing over loudspeakers with the melody from “Marker”:

“ATTENTION ALL GUESTS. You must evacuate the Zoo effective immediately. There has been a slight issue on our end.”