Put the Rifle Down is a Canadian Electronic dance band based in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Canada that were signed to Montreal label Summer Lovers Unlimited. Their debut full-length, Selector, was released in 2009. The band includes Michael Countryman (vocals), Anthony Bruno (drums/percussion), Jordan Bimm (guitar), and Mark Cassidy (synthesizers). The band formed while all four members were studying at the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

 in 2004. NOW

NOW (magazine)

Now is a free weekly newspaper in Toronto, Canada. It was first printed on September 10, 1981 by Michael Hollett and Alice Klein. Now is an alternative weekly mixing arts and entertainment news with political coverage....

magazine considers their sound similar to that of New Order

New Order

New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...

. In 2007, the band had their song Architekt featured on a vinyl-only compilation called Hordes Of Canada that was issued in the UK by Cheap Date Records. The release also included songs by Crystal Castles

Crystal Castles (band)

Crystal Castles are an experimental electronic band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, consisting of producer Ethan Kath and lyricist and vocalist Alice Glass. Crystal Castles are known for their chaotic live shows and their lo-fi home productions. The duo released many limited EPs between 2006 and...

, We Are Wolves

We Are Wolves

We Are Wolves are a Quebec indie rock band, based in Montreal, consisting of vocalist and bassist Alexander Ortiz, keyboardist/backing vocalist Vincent Levesque and drummer/vocalist Antonin Marquis. The band released their debut album, Non-Stop Je Te Plie en Deux with Fat Possum Records, in 2005...

, and Duchess Says

Duchess Says

Duchess Says is a Canadian punk band from Montreal. The band, formed in late 2003, describes its own genre as "moog rock".The band consists of vocalist and guitarist Annie-Claude Deschênes, keyboardist and guitarist Ismael Tremblay, guitarist and bassist Philippe Clément and percussionist Simon...

 and is now out of print. Drowned in Sound

Drowned in Sound

DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...

 described Architekt as "glacial downbeat-pop at its most irresistible" and wrote that Arcade Fire was "an obvious influence".

The band has played the North by Northeast

North by Northeast

North by Northeast is an annual five-day live music and film festival and music conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, held each June....

 music festival, the CMJ

College Music Journal

College Music Journal, commonly known as CMJ, is a music events/publishing company which hosts an annual festival in New York City, the CMJ Music Marathon, as well as a weekly magazine of and for the music industry and college radio stations in the United States and Canada. It publishes top 30...

 festival, Pop Montreal

Pop Montreal

Pop Montreal is an annual music festival occurring in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in the early fall, usually at the end of September or the beginning of October. More than 400 acts are scheduled to play in more than 50 venues across the city, mostly located in the Mile End area...

, and Canadian Music Week

Canadian Music Week

Canadian Music Week is an industry conference and music festival held over four days in various venues throughout Toronto, Ontario, Canada.-History:...

. They were invited to play the 2008 South by Southwest

South by Southwest

South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...

 festival in Austin, Texas

Austin, Texas

Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...

, but did not make it due to visa problems. Put the Rifle Down has remixed tracks by The Coast

The Coast (band)

The Coast was a Canadian indie rock group, based in Toronto, Ontario. The Coast is Ben Spurr , Ian Fosbery , and brothers Luke and Jordan Melchiorre .-History:...

 and by the French band The Teenagers

The Teenagers (French band)

The Teenagers are a French synthpop band formed in late 2005, originally as a joke. They achieved some degree of notoriety with the song "Homecoming", both for its catchy sound and for its explicit language and misogynistic content...

. Thunderheist

Thunderheist

Thunderheist is an electronic music duo from Toronto and Montreal, Canada. Thunderheist is made up of producer Graham Bertie and Omolola Isis Salami . The two began collaborating before they had ever met in person, sending MP3 files to each other over the Internet.They are signed and released one...

 remixed Put the Rifle Down's track My Industrial Park.

In September 2011, the band announced it will release a new full-length album, titled New Dance, on October 20, 2011.

Discography

• Hordes of Canada (Cheap Date Records; 2007) UK Comp, vinyl only, OUT OF PRINT.
• Selector (Summer Lovers Unlimited; 2009) LP, OUT OF PRINT.
• NRG (Independent; 2010) LP.
• New Dance (Independent; 2011) LP.

External links

• Put the Rifle Down official site
• Put the Rifle Down at CBC Radio 3
  CBC Radio 3
  CBC Radio 3 is a radio station that consists of two parts devoted to Canadian arts and music: a radio service which is available on Sirius Satellite Radio and streaming audio, and several daily and weekly podcasts from the CBC Radio 3 website...