Women was a Canadian

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band formed in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

in 2008. The group consisted of Patrick Flegel, Christopher Reimer, Matt Flegel and Mike Wallace. The band's experimental style, which eschewed the polished

post-punk revival Post-punk revival (also known as indie rock revival) is a Music genre, subgenre or movement of indie rock that emerged in the early 2000s as a stripped-down and back-to-basics version of Guitar-rock, guitar rock inspired by the original sounds a ...

sound for

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate stylistic ch ...

production techniques and eerie, dissonant soundscapes, proved influential on the post-punk scene of the 2010s onwards. Their debut album ''

Women A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional u ...

'' was released on

Chad VanGaalen Chad VanGaalen (born 1977) is a Canadian musician, animator, and artist from Calgary, Alberta. Career ''Infiniheart'' Following a few scattered independent releases, done mostly on homemade CDs with hand-drawn art, VanGaalen released '' Infini ...

's label

Flemish Eye Flemish Eye is a record label started in 2003 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada by Ian Russell. The first release was '' Infiniheart'' by Chad VanGaalen, which was picked up in 2005 by indie label Sub Pop. From the success of ''Infiniheart'', the label ...

on July 8, 2008 in Canada and on

Jagjaguwar Jagjaguwar is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana. History In 1996, in Charlottesville, Virginia, University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public resear ...

in the United States on October 7, 2008. In October 2010, shortly after the release of Women's second album ''

Public Strain ''Public Strain'' is the second and final studio album by Canadian rock band Women. It was released on August 23, 2010, via Flemish Eye in Canada and Jagjaguwar in the United States. The album was produced by Chad VanGaalen and recorded during ...

'', the band went on indefinite hiatus following a fight on stage at a show at Lucky Bar in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. The group eventually dissolved following Reimer's passing in 2012, with Matt Flegel and Wallace reconvening as

Viet Cong The Viet Cong (VC) was an epithet and umbrella term to refer to the communist-driven armed movement and united front organization in South Vietnam. It was formally organized as and led by the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, and ...

(now named Preoccupations), whilst Patrick Flegel started performing as Cindy Lee.

History

Women's debut album, ''

'', recorded by

, gained positive recognition from music publications including

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

Vue Weekly ''Vue Weekly'' was an alternative weekly newspaper published in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, with issues released every Thursday. It covered topics on artists and events that are often ignored, marginalized, or misrepresented by the mainstream medi ...

, and as well as other varied music blogs. The band's sound has been likened to "sunny Beach Boys pop ..dragged into a dark alley and gleefully mutilated", as well as compared to other bands

The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionis ...

and

The Zombies The Zombies are an English Rock music, rock band formed in St Albans in 1961. Led by keyboardist/vocalist Rod Argent and lead vocalist Colin Blunstone, the group had their first British and American hit in 1964 with "She's Not There". In the U ...

. Pitchfork Media named their song "Black Rice" from their debut album the 18th best track of 2008. After the release of their debut album Women extensively toured throughout 2008 and 2009, performing over 180 times in North America, Europe and the UK. Highlight performances took place at Barcelona's

Primavera Sound Primavera Sound (commonly referred to as Primavera) is an annual music festival held at the Parc del Fòrum in Barcelona, Spain, during late May and early June. It was founded in 2001 by Pablo Soler as "a showcase for Spanish Noise rock, noise ban ...

, Austin's

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

, Chicago's

Pitchfork Music Festival Pitchfork Music Festival was an annual music festival in Union Park (Chicago), Union Park in Chicago, Illinois, organized by the online magazine ''Pitchfork (website), Pitchfork.'' Starting in 2011, the festival announced a branch staged in Paris ...

and London's The Lexington. The band has toured or performed with

Mogwai Mogwai () are a Scottish post-rock band, formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite (guitar, vocals), Barry Burns (guitar, piano, synthesizer, vocals), Dominic Aitchison (bass guitar), and Martin Bulloch (drums). Mogwa ...

Abe Vigoda Abraham Vigoda (February 24, 1921 – January 26, 2016) was an American actor known for his portrayals of Salvatore Tessio in ''The Godfather'' (1972) and Phil Fish in both ''Barney Miller'' (1975–1977, 1982) and ''Fish'' (1977–1978). His ...

Dungen Dungen ("the grove", ) is a Swedish rock band based in Stockholm. Often classified as psychedelic rock, Dungen is also influenced by Swedish (and other) folk music, classic rock, progressive rock, garage rock and alternative rock. The band ...

Deerhunter Deerhunter is an American indie rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 2001. The band currently consists of Bradford Cox (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Moses Archuleta (drums, electronics, sound treatments), Lockett Pundt (guitar, vocals, ...

, and

Eric's Trip Eric's Trip is a Canadian indie rock band from Moncton, New Brunswick. Eric's Trip achieved prominence as the first Canadian band to be signed to Seattle's flagship grunge label Sub Pop in the early 1990s. The band had a minor hit in alternati ...

. The song "Black Rice" was also listed by Pitchfork as the 410th best song of the 2000s. Women's second album, ''

'', was released in Canada, via

, and in the United States, UK, and Europe, via

, on September 28, 2010. The album received praise from across the media spectrum, including ''Pitchfork'', ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'', ''Filter'', and the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. ''Public Strain'' also topped the !earshot Top 50 Chart in October that year. The band began a European tour, followed by a US tour in the fall of 2010. It was rumoured that the band broke up on October 29, 2010 after a fight on stage at a show at Lucky Bar in

although their management stated that they merely cancelled the rest of their tour. Matt Flegel later confirmed in an interview with Marc Riley on BBC 6 that a fight had in fact broken out on stage between Patrick and the band, prematurely ending their tour. Pitchfork released a three-song live video in February 2011 shot in an empty factory a few weeks before the band's indefinite hiatus. Some members of Women also played in the live band of

. Pat Flegel was a member of the band Fels-Naptha, and Michael Wallace is a former member of the bands Friendo and Azeda Booth, and toured with Porcelain Raft. Christopher Reimer toured with

The Dodos The Dodos are an American indie rock band, consisting of guitarist and singer Meric Long and drummer Logan Kroeber. Originating from the San Francisco Bay Area, the duo has released eight studio albums over a fifteen-year span since their for ...

during the summer and fall of 2011. On February 8, 2012, guitarist Christopher Reimer performed at Weeds Cafe in Calgary, recorded by Brad Hawkins. Thirteen days later, on February 21, Reimer died in his sleep. No information about the cause of Reimer's death was immediately released, however the band's record label, Flemish Eye, later stated that he had suffered "from complications relating to a heart condition". In 2012 Chad van Gaalen released
The Chad Tape
', containing 9 Reimer solo tracks. Following the dissolution of the band and Reimer's death, Matthew Flegel and Michael Wallace formed the band

Preoccupations Preoccupations is a Canadian post-punk band from Calgary, Alberta, formed in 2012 under the name Viet Cong. The band consists of Matt Flegel (vocals, bass), Scott Munro (guitar, synth), Daniel Christiansen (guitar) and Mike Wallace (drums). Fleg ...

(formerly Viet Cong) in 2012, while Pat Flegel formed Cindy Lee.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (

, 2008) * ''

'' (

, 2010)

Extended play

* ''Rarities 2007-2010'' (Flemish Eye / Jagjaguwar, 2020)

Singles

* "Service Animal/Grey Skies" 7" (Jagjaguwar, 2010) * "Women / Cold Pumas / Fair Ohs / Friendo Split 7"" (Faux Discx, 2011)

Video

* ''Pitchfork Presents: A Three Song Live Special'' (Feb 2011)

Chris Reimer

* ''The Chad Tape'' (

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

, 2012)

Members

;Former :*Patrick Flegel – guitar, vocals (2007-2012) :*Matthew Flegel – bass, percussion, vocals (2007-2012) :*Michael Wallace – drums (2007-2012) :*Christopher Reimer – guitar, samples, vocals (2007-2012; deceased)

References

External links

Women
at

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 2007 Musical groups from Calgary Canadian indie rock groups Canadian noise rock groups Canadian art rock groups Musical groups disestablished in 2012 2007 establishments in Alberta 2012 disestablishments in Alberta Jagjaguwar artists