Jackson MacIntosh

Montreal musician Jackson MacIntosh was a vital figure in that city’s indie rock scene in the 2010′s; singing and playing guitar with his band Sheer Agony, playing bass in TOPS, co-running a studio that recorded Homeshake among many others, and making records under his own name too. MacIntosh got his start in the noisy indie rock band Play Guitar in 2010, playing a variety of instruments on the (Rated) PG album from early in the year, and the self-titled album they released later in the year. During this time, MacIntosh and two partners (Christian Simmons and Mike Wright) started the recording studio/ performance space the Drones Club and set out to work with many of the bands in town. MacIntosh and Simmons also formed the buzzy, new wave/power pop group Sheer Agony and released a single (Hungry? Why Wait) in early 2011. The group released two singles in 2012 and the Drones Club stayed busy recording bands. MacIntosh contributed to fellow Montreal artist Jef Barbara’s 2013 album Soft to the Touch, and Sheer Agony began work on their first album. The Drones Club hosted Homeshake as they recorded their debut album, In the Shower, which came out in 2014. They also recorded their second record, 2015′s Midnight Snack at the Drones Club. Sheer Agony’s cheekily titled Masterpiece came out that year as well and saw MacIntosh expanding his songwriting beyond spiky power pop into classic late ’60s and early ’70s pop territory. The next few years saw a uptick in activity as he continued to record bands, including Homeshake again, played bass on tour and record for Montreal band TOPS during 2016 and 2017, collaborated on a song with Drugdealer for the 2017 album End of Comedy, wrote and recorded songs for a second Sheer Agony album and worked on a solo album made up of songs not quite right for Sheer Agony. Ballad heavy and indebted to the smooth sounds of Todd Rundgren’s early period, not to mention prime Harry Nilsson and the Zombies, the album took three years to finish and was one of the last things done at the now-defunct Drones Club. My Dark Side was released by Sinderlyn Records in March of 2018. ~ Tim Sendra