Photo courtesy Hive Mind PRIf you're tired of dudes in rock bands trying to be traditionally cool with their influences and image, Germaphobes have made a track for you. The Toronto duo of Neil Rankin and Paul Erlichman take inspiration from that period of the 70s when artists like Sparks and Talking Heads had hits with off-kilter, high concept pop music. "Magic Eye," Germaphobes' first single from their debut EP of the same name, carries this lineage well. Erlichman's guitar harmonics drone hypnotically in the tense verses before the chorus explodes, riding a straitjacketed disco beat."Neil and I have been making music together for a long time now, and so we formed Germaphobes as a way of pushing ourselves to write and play music we wouldn't if left to our own devices," says Erlichmann on the duo's songwriting process, "We make decisions generally by one of us suggesting something dumb and the other person validating it. We're both yes men."Continued below…
Phil Witmer is a writer living in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter.