CASTLEPROJECT_reviews.doc

8/9/2019 CASTLEPROJECT_reviews.doc

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CASTLE PROJECT: reviews and articles

EXCLAIM!

Vancouver’s Ryan Ostiguy has taken the lemons life gave him and made some delicious lemonadewith Diaries. After lost love left him in the dumps, Ostiguy regrouped to form Castle ro!ect and

create this pulsating tri"ute al"um to his "roken heart. #he end result is an am"itious pop record,

"rimming with electricity. $nstead of "rooding, Ostiguy converts his angst into soaring, arena%rocksongs that give Coldplay a run for their money. #he comparison is most apt on &Cele"rate the 'nd,(due to its rock "allad pace, lilting piano, and Ostiguy’s intermittent falsetto. A )uick misstep occurs

with &Away *rom $t,( which strays too close to the alt%cock%rock of +ush. #hings get more

interesting with the sinister and thunderous &$n *rustration,( while &earts at the Door( evokes the

+eatles and -odest -ouse. All told, Ostiguy takes grand aim at some pop heavyweights, and histhoughtful eye for detail gets him close to the mark.

COAST

Castle ro!ect

Diaries of a +roken eart/hite /hale0

'1%2pitfire mem"er Ryan Ostiguy wrote this disc after the dissolution of his marriage. And while the title

might lead you to "elieve that the songwriting will "e trite 3 !ust another series of over%done love%gone%

wrong songs 3 it’s everything "ut. Diaries, produced "y oward Redekopp 4ew ornographers, 56%670,so perfectly captures the ram"ling thoughts and painful self%dou"t that accompanies such a destructive

event, you may find yourself thinking that he was reading your mind. Diaries is a difficult and cathartic

piece of work which ultimately reaches far "eyond its origins. 8ike Conor O"erst or 'lliott 2mith, the

power and validity0 of Ostiguy’s writing lies in the fact that it speaks so universally. 8ike when hewrites &$t’s the look in your eyes9Don’t you want me9like you used to want me,( on &$n

*rustration.( Or &$’m picking up pieces of "roken glass9these cuts on my hands won’t heal too

fast9!ust give me one minute to catch my "reath9what little $ have to give you9what’s left.( #his is

for the wronged, the emotionally discarded and "etrayed. #his is for those who seek answerswhere there are none, yet continue to torture themselves "y repeating the same )uestions over and

over. #his is for those who still yearn, still wake up in a cold sweat and find themselves

ine1plica"ly crying. $t is for the hearts that sink and the chests that tighten. And you have to wonder, after

all this, could a person ever regain one’s no"ility:

3Dave ayden

NORTH SHORE NEWS

Castle ro!ect % Diaries of a +roken eart

/hite /hale Records0Rating; < out of =70

Castle ro!ect is the new pro!ect from Ryan Ostiguy, who used to pound the skins for local punk outfit the

2pitfires.

2o it comes as a surprise that Castle ro!ect sounds nothing like the 2pitfires> it actually has the pop

sensi"ilities of Coldplay and early Radiohead. $t?s )uiet, su"dued, painfully sad and heart"reaking. 4ot "ecause it?s a "ad al"um, mind you, "ut "ecause Ostiguy is achingly honest and "lunt in chronicling the

aftermath of a failed relationship.


2/5

/hen he croons a"out "eing confused and lonely, there?s little dou"t he really is confused and lonely. $t?s

that emotion that makes Diaries such a compelling listen.

Ostiguy handles nearly all the instrumental duties, with mem"ers of 8im"lifter and the 4ew ornographers

lending a hand. 'ven the piano and guitar layers sound melancholy.

-ost pop and rock "ands have songs a"out messy "reakups. Ostiguy, however, is more heartfelt than most.#his is the definitive "reakup al"um.

% @ocelyn Chan

THE EORIA STRAIHT

A castle "uilt on heartache

+y !ohn lucasu"lish Date; %@un%775

Ryan Ostiguy sets a good e1ample for the neigh"ourhood kids, whom he encourages to play in traffic.

Re"ecca +lissett photo.

$f the songs on Castle ro!ect’s de"ut CD, Diaries of a +roken eart, are anything to !udge "y, Ryan

Ostiguy hasn’t merely had his heart "roken, he’s had it pilloried, doused in kerosene, and paraded down

-ain 2treet on a pike. #he disc’s == lushly orchestrated selections take listeners through the downward

spiral of a failing relationship, from the first shocking discovery of "etrayal, through attempts to makethings right, and to the weary resignation that the good times are gone for good. /hen, on &Cele"rate the

'nd(, Ostiguy croons, &$ watched you deceive me9$ need you to leave me9Alone for life,( he leaves no

room for dou"t that he means it.

Reached "y telephone in Bamloops, where he’s working on the set of the arrison *ord flick *irewall, the

Vancouver%"ased songwriter acknowledges that the record is a"out his own divorce. e reveals that, inretrospect, Diaries of a +roken eart is a document of a partnership headed irrevoca"ly toward collapse.

/hen he started working on it, however, he still saw the faintest glimmer of hope. &$ was pro"a"ly trying to

tell myself, at that time when $ was recording these songs and singing these lyrics, that the shit was messed

up,( Ostiguy says. &+ut $ wasn’t looking at it that way. $ was too "usy looking at it like /e’ve got to makethis work, we’ve got to fi1 the pro"lem.’ +ut as soon as $ took those demos that $ had done at home and

went with oward RedekoppE and recorded, $ realiFed that $ was trying to tell myself something, "ut $

couldn’t fathom it in my head that $ was "eing screwed over or that this was going to end.(

'nd it did, and if it left shattered lives in its wake, it also gave the world a darkly "eautiful collection ofsongs. Diaries of a +roken eart isn’t all painted in shades of midnight "lack and gunmetal grey3he

Airways( and &Away *rom $t( temper the gloom with leavening "lasts of guitar%charged alt%pop3"ut the

disc’s finest moments tend to "e its most reflective. /ith their yearning strings and plaintive melodies,

num"ers like &+roken Glass( and &Rearrange #hem( won’t fail to touch anyone who hears them, includingthe person who inspired them.

&$ don’t know what she feels a"out it,( Ostiguy says of his e1. &$ don’t know if she’s actually listened to the

lyrics and gone, like, #his is all a"out me.’ +ut it is. Right now it !ust feels like she could care less a"out

anything, so if she hears it she pro"a"ly laughs. +ut that’s how $ feel, and that’s how $ felt, so $ don’t even

really care what she thinks. $t was more of a healing thing for me to do it.(

Ostiguy is already preparing a follow%up to Diaries. e e1pects to head "ack to the studio in 2eptem"er,with Redekopp once again in the producer’s chair. As for the heartache, it seems Ostiguy’s hardly getting

over it; e1pect another assortment of sad, sad songs. &$ don’t think $’ll ever make a record that doesn’t have


3/5

that content in it, "ecause $ guess $’m !ust a really emotional guy,( he notes. &$ like music that’s true to your

heart, and that’s !ust what $’ve always done.(

-oreover, Ostiguy realiFes that if he continues to e1plore the darker side of relationships, his music will

always find a sympathetic ear. &'veryone understands the feeling of having a "roken heart> $’ve !ust

e1pressed it,( he asserts. &$ get e%mails from people that are talking a"out how the lyrics really mean a lot

to them. #hey’re going through a "reakup at the moment, and they can hear the distress in my voice, andthey can hear it’s the truth. $ love that. $ love the connection with other people who are going through the

same thing or have gone through the same thing. $t’s pretty cool. $’m not the only one.(

THE EORIA STRAIHT

Castle ro!ect

+y !ohn lucas

u"lish Date; =6%Apr%775Diaries of a +roken eart /hite /hale0

As long as people have hearts to "e trampled on and relationships to toss

down the shitter, we’ll continue to need "reakup songs. /ith titles like&Cele"rate the 'nd(, &$n *rustration(, &/aste(, and &Apologies(, it’s prettyclear that Castle ro!ect mastermind Ryan Ostiguy has spent some time on

the lonely side of the street. #hese are songs that document that aching,

intermina"le moment when the fire has gone out "ut the pain still "urns.

-ay"e it’s all "een said "efore, "ut Ostiguy makes the ache convincing withhis heartfelt singing. e also plays most of the instruments himself, and his

classic, layered approach to down"eat pop with a"le assistance from producer oward Redekopp0 makes

Diaries of a +roken eart a winner, tailor%made for anyone who has ever spent the wee hours staring at the

"edroom ceiling and wondering how in the hell everything went so terri"ly wrong.

"E

Divorce, Canadian style

Castle ro!ect H /ith *ake Cops and the *rosted #ipF H 2idetrack CafI H *ri, @une =J Kpm0 After yearsspent pounding the drums in Vancouver rock "and the 2pitfires, Ryan Ostiguy stepped away from the rock

’n’ roll lifestyle to focus on his family life. 2adly, the relationship went south, and Ostiguy took his "attered

heart and his enduring love of lush%sounding indie%rock into the studio to create the Castle ro!ect’s Diaries

of a +roken eart.

&$’d always "een doing this kind of stuff, the more indie kinda stuff, !ust "y myself,( Ostiguy says. &$’d sit

down in my house and record a song every two days or something> $ have a whole li"rary of songs $’ve

written. /hen my marriage ended, there was nothing for me to do and $ wanted to concentrate on music, so$ said, 2crew it,’ and $ called up producer oward RedekoppE and we went and recorded the record.(

/hile Ostiguy still har"ours strong feelings for the power and fury of rock there’s even talk of a 2pitfires

reunion0, he e1plains the delicate sounds to "e found on Diaries are "etter suited to the comple1 emotionsinvolved in a "reakup. &$ !ust think emotionally you can "ring it out in that kind of music, "ut not as much,(

he says. &$ like to hear a song with more emotion to it. $ like the strings. $ like piano. $ like all that stuff and

it’s pretty hard to "ring out in rock ’n’ roll.(

#he pro!ect started as a way for Ostiguy to work through his pain, "ut soon it evolved into a haunting

e1posI of the feelings most people must endure at one point or another. &'motion%wise, you’re getting

nothing "ut =77 per cent the truth,( he says. rue feelings. And $ don’t think there’s anything "etter thanthat, listening to some"ody spill out the truth of their life. 2o many people tie into that and they listen to it


4/5

and they go, $’ve "een through this,’ and they can !ust relate to it so much. #hat’s partially what $ love

a"out it. $t’s out there, you’re not the only one and $’m not the only one. Lou gotta keep looking forward

and keep going.( D0

MOTE MAA#INE

Castle ro!ect

Diaries Of A +roken eart/hite /hale Records

*ormer 2pitfire drummer Ryan Ostiguy has decided to go out on his own under the guise of Castle ro!ect,

a new outfit made up of Ostiguy and some musician friends. /ith the help of producer oward Redekopp

#egan and 2ara, 4ew ornographers, 56%670, Ostiguy recently released Castle ro!ect?s de"ut al"um

Diaries of a +roken eart on Vancouver la"el /hite /hale Records.

Diaries of a +roken eart is pro"a"ly the saddest and most heart%wrenching al"um $?ve heard in a long

time. #his guy must have really gone through a messy "reak%up with someone he o"viously cared for

deeply "ecause every song is riddled with references to a relationship gone "ad.

+efore you even take the CD out of its case, the art on the sleeve fully illustrates the main theme of theal"um, with a man and a woman walking away from each other down separate, lonely paths. #ake the lyric

"ooklet out and there is a picture of whom $?m assuming is Ostiguy with writing "eneath the photograph

saying, M$?m dead to youM.

#he sorrowfulness is imminent right from the start with the lead off track MCele"rate the 'ndM. #he chorus

is M$ watched you deceive me, $ need you to leave me, alone for lifeM. #he ne1t track M$n *rustrationM is a

Radiohead%like tune that continues the theme of love lost with the line M$?m Dead to you, $?m Gone to you,$?m dead to youM. -any of the tracks show some potential "ut !ust end up sounding too self%loathing or

whiny making them almost impossi"le to listen to unless you?re actually going through a "reak%up.

#here is one redeeming )uality of the al"um and it?s the redemption that can "e found when a person loses

someone "ut picks up the pieces and moves on with their lives. 8ike in the song M/hat it #akesM, when

Ostiguy sings, M$ watched as you fell apart, and $ know that it kills you inside. $ know, $ know, you loved to please her "ut don?t need her inside of your lifeM. #his is one of the final lines of the al"um and it represents

that there is light at the end of the tunnel and in the end as the old adage says; it?s "etter to have loved and

lost than to have not loved at all.

#rent -c-artin

"M$RELLA M"SIC

Castle ro!ect N Diaries of a +roken eart/hite /hale Records % 7750

$t?s no fun to read someone?s diary when they?re happily in love. $n fact,

it?s downright annoying. +ut don?t worry, for all the flowery M$ can?t

imagine life without youM entries, there are al"ums like Ryan Ostiguy?s

confessional Diaries of a +roken eart to remind us that in the immortalwords of Def 8eppard % M8ove "ites.M

Diaries is the perfect soundtrack to put on as you gather the e1?s tooth"rush and favourite t%shirts into a


5/5

grocery "ag. #he love%one%"ad theme is thematically carried through from its cover art % lonely streets, "oy

walking alone on front, girl walking alone on "ack % to the unnerving photo of Ostiguy on the inside cover

with the handwritten inscription M$?m dead to you.M

#he melancholy continues through all == tracks. MCele"rate #he 'nd,M MApologies,M Mow Does $t *eelM all

ache with emotional confessions. According to one article, Ostiguy, former drummer and songwriter for

Vancouver?s 2pitfires, recently split with his wife, which would e1plain the al"um?s genuine rawness.

References to a sad pop group called Coldplay are inevita"le, "ut this al"um is worth listening for its own

honest and heart"reaking merit.

Rating; K

SEE MAA#INE

CA2#8' RO@'C#

Diaries of a +roken eart/hite /hale0

out of five0

/hite /hale records is )uickly "ecoming my favourite Canadian la"el. 2ure, every "and on the roster

sounds like some other "and, "ut they all do it with style. Bids #hese Days reinvented -odest -ouse )uiteefficiently, and #he -ohawk 8odge gave ayden a smiling makeover, so when Castle ro!ect slips into

#he *laming 8ips mode midway through their de"ut, Diaries of a +roken eart, $ wasn’t surprised "y the

reference.

And if you have to pick a "and to emulate, #he 8ips aren’t a "ad choice. 'ven though Ryan Ostiguy sounds

e1actly like /ayne Coyne at times, his melancholy take on lush pop certainly stands on its own. 8ayeredvocals, hypnotic guitar lines and compelling tension draw you in and keep you focused. $f this were the

sole e1tent of Castle ro!ect’s talents, $’d still recommend them. +ut as it happens each and every song on

the al"um has at least one moment so "eautiful, so sophisticated, so perfect that you’d think that it was #he

*laming 8ips taking off this "and instead of the other way around.

@A2O4 8'/$2

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CASTLEPROJECT_reviews.doc