The idea behind Bellevue came about in September 2002 as Kingston resident Brent Hough packed up his guitar and his 4-track and moved to Toronto hell-bent to put together the band of his dreams. It turned out to be easier said than done, but after 5 years of hard work things are really starting to come together for Hough and company.

"I think we've had probably four drummers who've at least been around for a few months or more and then either didn't work out or whatnot," recalls Hough, "and a couple of different keyboard players. All in all, there's probably been at least twelve different people in the band. Luckily now we're at the point where we all get along and everyone seems to work well together."

Now with their personnel issues ironed out, Bellevue is poised to release their second record, The Road to Recovery. Their 2007 debut, Lost in Space, got 3-Ns in Now; Bryan Borzykowski summed up his review by stating "they need to gel better, and the songwriting is by no means on a par with their influences, but a few years of hard work will do Bellevue good."

Well, it seems that a mere year and a half has been good for Bellevue. The new record, which is definitely more of a focused band-oriented project, features improved songwriting and much tighter ensemble performances. Recorded over a three-day weekend in a cabin on the north shore of Lake Huron, tracks like the gleeful "One Two Three" and the self-help to-do list "I've Been Meaning to Get Therapy" illustrate a band well on its way to carving out its own niche in the guitar-pop tradition.

Bellevue will be celebrating the new record with a release party this Saturday at the Smiling Buddha Bar (961 College). Joining them on the bill will be Kingston's Music Maul and Jewelry Rat. Bellevue will also be joined by a couple of ex-members for this show: Matt Rubba (of Airfields and the Diableros) on guitar and keys as well as Julie Kendall (of 1977) on vocals and keys.

Related Links:

• Bellevue's MySpace


• Bellevue's Website


• Now's review of Lost in Space


• Gitpop's review of The Road to Recovery


• Music Maul's MySpace


• Jewelry Rat's MySpace


• Music Maul Industies' MySpace

Photo of Bellevue (L to R: Jordan Bruce, Brent Hough, David Ritter, and Dan Snyder) by Colleen Leung