"They also possess British-pop sensibilities mixed with guitar-driven American rock that can leave you happily humming the tunes."
-Washington Post

"This is really sweet power pop with punch along the lines of REM, Teenage Fanclub or The Well Wishers."
- Power Popaholic

"Canadian Invasion play some darn good ol’ rock and or roll of the independent variety. Poppy guitars and intelligent lyricism in the same light as R.E.M. and Wilco but... younger."
- Pasta Primavera

* * * * * * * * *

M&Ms, Faulkner and Lou Reed are undeniably American, and all serve as some sort of passion or inspiration for Philadelphia’s CANADIAN INVASION. It is understandably odd, therefore, that a band deeply rooted in all things American would chose a name empowering our neighbors from the North. While the band refrains from jumping on the pop-culture bandwagon, the reason for this five-piece and its moniker help explain the musical messages the band hopes to convey.

“I’m proud to say that we’ve had the band name even before the South Park movie, and while it’s a pretty silly name, it has really encapsulated what the band is about,” says vocalist and guitarist, Andy Canadian. “Our songs are a satirical assault on American ‘values’. We call ourselves ‘America’s last line of defense against the evil Canadian socialist empire’s pernicious ideology of cheap health care and gun control.’”

A satirical combination of rollicking bass, drums and guitar, Andy Canadian, Jim Foley (bass), George Groves (drums), Eric Miller (lead guitar) and Chris Morita (guitar, backing vocals) continually trek across the East Coast, sharing the stage with legends such as David Bowie, The Stones and Lou Reed himself. Canadian Invasion uses its deceitful brand to emphasize what they believe fellow suburbanites feel on their latest album, Three Cheers for the Invisible Hand.

“Our songs are about how the suburbs are a non-place, negatively defined as not-the-city and not-the-country,” says Canadian. “The characters in our songs float listlessly through a world they don’t feel a part of, grasping at anything around them that might give them an identity. The album title is a commentary on how this kind of situation came to be. The ‘invisible hand’ of progress and equilibrium has brought our characters to desperate, ghost-like existences, ones they feel incapable of changing.”

With inspiration from classics like The Beatles and REM mixed with the more modern sounds of Wilco and Okkervil River, Andy Canadian points out, “As much as we want to be John Lennon or Michael Stipe, we want to be Raymond Carver and David Lynch. We want catchy pop songs that remind you that your life is fairly absurd.”

“I am always fascinated with people like Martin Luther King and Einstein who have the courage to lead extraordinary lives and artists like Bob Dylan and Freddie Mercury who make extraordinary statements,” says Foley. “I am always inspired by those who really truly love music as an art form rather than a means to an end.”

Due out in February 17, 2009, Three Cheers for the Invisible Hand takes a little American pride, some tongue-in-cheek Canadian love and a wealth of inspiration to bring together a sound Philadelphia City Paper calls "a gently rocking landscape of sublimely catchy choruses."