CD Review.
By Oswaldo Perez Cabrera

We Need Surgery is not your typical band. They are based in Vancouver after being nomads for months. They were formed in Seoul, South Korea, of all places, in 2007. But they are not Koreans, well, actually one is, Jungkyu Lim (aka Johnny Q) one of the guitar players and local hero, two more are expats from the south (Alabama and California), one is from Ontario and only Valentino, one of the guitar players, is from BC. After reaching the acme (festivals, radio, magazines) of success in Asia the band decided to come to Vancouver to shop for a record deal.  Five years after the inception of WNS, Brandon Butler (drums), Miso Stefanac (Vocals), Valentino Avignoni (guitar), Paul Johnson (bass) and Johnny Q (Guitar) are en route to accomplish their dreams.  Their self titled debut album was released by Light Organ Records and recorded by Dave Ogilvie (Skinny Puppy) and Kevvy Maher (Fake Shark! Real Zombie!) and local producer legend Futcher. It is a jewel of indie rock music.

I was blown away by the quality of this band when I heard their music for the first time. It was an EP called Simon Says which is also the title of the opening song. The EP was totally DIY unlike the new release that even has a poster of the Statue of Liberty. Actually the new album contains the songs from that EP. They will crawl into your head and stay there until you have to play them in your stereo at loud volume; again and again. I particularly like Cocoon, Stranger and Simon Says but any song could be a single, so the record label chose Go go go! to be the first single, the shortest song which makes it more radio friendly. I, on the other side, like to play Cocoon on my my radio show which is more diverse musically or Simon Says which has a The Cure style or Stranger which is closer to Joy Divsion. Another song that could easily be a single is Why's it always gotta to be this way.
The band's energy and the charisma that they portray when they play LIVE is awesome! We Need Surgery is a band that doesn't disappoint when they give a show. It is a band to dance to, is hard not to with their rock party vibe.

A lot of bands rush through my head when I listen to their tunes. Not only to me, each of their new fans try to make comparisons; The Killers, The Strokes, Talking Heads, Joy Division, The Smiths, New Order, The Cure, Dinosaur Jr. The Velvet Underground, T-Rex, Spacemen 3, Stone Roses, Love and Rockets among others. Despite these "influences" the band does not sound like a copy of anything at all, they have their own territory. The songs blend new wave with punk, electro rock and shoegaze. They have a British sound that woos with a New York vibe, but their art can be encompassed in the universal pop culture.

The CD is one of the most solid works I have encountered recently, and it should become a classic of the "new" new wave thanks to the catchy riffs and well constructed melodies that stuck into your skull. Miso's voice is ideal for the We Need Surgery material as are the rest of the members in their respective roles. The problem for them will be to make a superior album next time. I wouldn't worry much about it yet though, this CD has a lot of milk for them. The We Need Surgery debut album is suitable to both music connoisseurs and pop lovers.

http://youtu.be/vph6sPTt488
BIO
We Need Surgery isn’t exactly your average hometown-buddies-start-a-band band. It took five guys from five corners of the earth to collide in Korea to make it happen. Then you have to factor in nine brutal (broke/wet/cold) but ultimately triumphant months in Vancouver, a video shooting hiatus in Tokyo,