CREDIT: INDOOR RECESS

I write about random things a lot. I write a lot about random things. For example, Ben Rispin of Saint Alvia recently fired up a debate on Facebook when he compared Nickelback to Alice In Chains, inciting lament, a little outrage and a lot of YouTube clips. Albeit joking, Rispin isn't wrong — the bands have a lot in common, including their arena rock pedigrees.

While people have mixed opinions and swift reactions to Nickelback, it seems all too often that people forget the grind they endured to earn their place on the radio. Once entirely independent, the band worked hard to surface on the scene years before they released their breakthrough album, Silver Side Up, and if any band is able to relate to benefitting from breaking on to radio at an opportune time, surely it is Alice In Chains.

Everyone knows that bands have to work hard to make an impact on listeners, beyond simply having a great song or album to offer. And you can always tell, too, the bands that are willing to go the extra mile, to sacrifice to see that connection fostered; it's the bands that put in the effort that we're the most appreciative to connect with in return.

Toronto's Bravestation knows a lot about hard work. Brothers Derek and Devin Wilson (guitars and vocals/bass, respectively), Andrew Heppner (keys and electronics) and Jeremy Rossetti (drums) have been working for a long time toward the release of Giants & Dreamers, their debut full-length album.

A boldly artistic effort, the album placed its musicians outside of their comfort zones and created a uniquely atmospheric pop sound, so wonderfully reminiscent of retro New Wave that it becomes easy to be so distracted by the whole as to miss the beauty in the details: the timeless quality to the lyrics, the organic percussive textures throughout, the very vision of Swayze dancing away injustice and disharmony.

There is a strong visual element to Giants & Dreamers, unmistakable movement in the way they've crafted the album. Themselves inspired, the band produced music videos for two tracks on the album — "Signs of the Civilized" and "Western Thrills" — stepping into important roles to deliver the vision they pursued.

"For us, music is the main part of the creation process, but as individuals we all really enjoy being creative," explained Derek Wilson, taking time to speak to Interrobang less than an hour before the band opened Imagine Dragons' sold-out show in Toronto last week. Wilson served as director for both of the videos from Giants & Dreamers.

"It's amazing when you have a vehicle like music that can get you into other fields," he continued. "It was a cool opportunity for me to figure out, 'How can we visually represent this?' I had never done anything to do with film, but I immersed myself in it. We all just like to be creative, and the music is a great means for that, it's fun."

The band returns to London on September 27 at Call The Office, bringing their signature sound and terrific new album with them. A word of warning to anyone looking them up online, however; according to Wilson, the band describing themselves online as 'tribal' is actually less a mission statement than it is an homage.

"We got a review over in the U.K. from a guy who said we sounded like quirky, tribal pop tunes," Wilson explained, describing how the band added that description to their Twitter info. "We just thought it was different, as opposed to saying, 'We're a New Wave rock band,' which is just so boring. But the next thing you know, four publications wrote articles saying it and it just sort of took off."

Bravestation plays Call The Office this week with Nightbox and Jinja Safari, the show is 19- plus and admission is $10. For more on the band and their album, visit them online at bravestation.tumblr.com or follow them on Twitter @bravestation. For more information on the show before September 27, visit calltheoffice.com.

And for more music news, streams and more, consider following this column on Twitter @fsu_bobbyisms. Here's hoping you find some time to dance, I'm out of words.