Odds

Formed in Vancouver in 1987, Odds established themselves in the Canadian alternative rock landscape with sharp pop songwriting, clean guitars, and an approach that blends melody, irony, and band energy. The original quartet consisted of Craig Northey, Steven Drake, Doug Elliott and Paul Brennan, before Pat Steward joined in the mid-1990s, followed by Murray Atkinson during the reformation. After early local-scene beginnings and a notable stint as Warren Zevon's touring band, Odds released Neopolitan in 1991 and Bedbugs in 1993, where the taste for immediate choruses and tonal shifts is already evident. Good Weird Feeling in 1995 and Nest in 1996 further established the band, with a sound tempered between power pop, alternative rock and college rock, driven by precise arrangements and voices that favor clarity over emphasis. Very active on stage in the 1990s, Odds toured notably with The Tragically Hip and Barenaked Ladies. After a hiatus at the end of the decade, the group resumed activities in 2007 around Craig Northey, Doug Elliott, Pat Steward and Murray Atkinson, and released Cheerleader in 2008, initially under the name The New Odds before reclaiming its original name. Odds then continued with several short formats, followed by the albums Universal Remote in 2022 and Crash the Time Machine in 2023, in keeping with a continuity faithful to its balance between melodic pop rock, straightforward guitars and attention to detail.