Humans: alive, well, and ready to party

text: Laura Phillips

Down the rabbit hole to the basement pits of Queen West’s Parts & Labour, kids came to occupy the ideal dance party. The Vancouver duo, Humans, returned to play their first Toronto show since Canadian Music Week, and in the low-lit underground quarters, elements of sound and surroundings aligned for a well-found show.

This band makes party music to bridge nightlife dichotomies– people who come for the music and people who, lets be real, just come to dance (you know, that person who says “I LOVE THIS SONG” a lot, but they don’t– they just want to dance) can revel as one under catchy loops and respectable artistry. However you want to dig it, Humans offer tight production skills to their audience. Synth claps and samples of cheering children line more intricate components to make their sound dreamy but dance-y. If you’re not dancing, you’re grooving in your mind and applauding the subtle build of climax… perhaps whilst swirling the fancy/real wine glass provided by P&L bartenders. (a rare feat for live show venues, no?)

Spearheading the Humans show was their most recent EP, Traps, with songs like ‘De Ceil’ and ‘On Pagaie’ acting as crowd-pleasers. It was cool lo-fi all wrapped up into one clean party package, and the band revealed chops to place them a-top the hype with like-genre acts who, let’s face it, have become blasé in their ‘old’ age. (*cough, Crystal Castles, cough*) Humans have spark and the means, and perhaps it’s now a matter of committing to a full LP to get them on a wider-spread circuit. Regardless, this lifeline seems like it’ll last well after the party.

The band continues onto New York for a string of performances before heading back to BC to finish off the last leg of their tour. For more about Humans and some online streaming, check out their website at dashumans.com.