Better Friends Than Lovers

This Vancouver-based pop-rock band will remind you of the days when you were in high school and your cool, older neighbour played in a really awesome band. Well, maybe.

Formed in 2004, Better Friends Than Lovers released a self-titled EP in 2006 before signing with Global Symphonic Records. With the release of their first full-length album, Great Loves, in October, the band will put their popularity to the test with a nationwide tour beginning September 19 in Vancouver.

Songs off the band’s EP reveal the unique creative talents of its members.  The track “Streetside” is raw and discordant, but hopeful and beautiful at the same time. For their new album, Better Friends Than Lovers fuels that same raw sound with more aggressive energy. “Half the Battle” features heavy drums and crunchy guitars interwoven with grinding, at times screeching, vocal harmonies. While their new material is youthful and catchy, their sound is overly complex, perhaps too much for what could be an easy-listening pop-rock band.

This definitely isn’t to say that Better Friends Than Lovers would not be worth catching live. The quintet, made up of four girls and a boy, is full of sweet, fun-loving energy and raw talent. This is definitely a band to keep your eye on and catch one of their shows before they really hit it big. For a complete list of tour dates, visit the band’s MySpace at myspace.com/betterfriendsthanlovers.