Member Since: 3/26/2005
Band Website: theispies.com
Band Members: Johnny Kay - vox / keys / guitar
James Robertson - lead guitar / vox / keys
Markus Saks - drums / percussion
Steve Payne - bass
Influences: The Pretenders, The Clash, Supergrass, The Wonder Stuff, Fleetwood Mac, Queen, The Police, Brian Eno, Guns and Roses, Elvis Costello, Supertramp, Marc Bolan, Graham Coxon, Spacehog, XTC, The Boss
Sounds Like:
"The I Spies pack Jam-like breakdowns and Costelloey bridges between tightly-wound guitar riffs that makes In The Night a collection of combustible little ditties."
James Hayashi-Tennant
May 1, 2008
Weekend Ideas.
"I spy with my little eye a hot indie band from Toronto. (I refer to the music and the men). Go dance and celebrate [the] end of school? Beginning of a warm weekend? Your love for Brit Pop that's not from Britain? You choose."
Jen McNeely
April 16, 2008
Sunday Morning Coffee :: The I Spies.
"I was able to throw on this record and not once hit "".
April 13, 2008
Hook, hook. Thump thump.
"The I Spies feel like Ontario's response to Victoria's Hot Hot Heat, and are even more likely to be the next hot pop quartet north of the American border."
by Chris Lewis
April 3, 2008
TOP 3 CD'S
" . . . the kind of album that's easy to fall in love with."
by Mary Dickie
April, 2008
CBC Radio 3
"*boing sound effect* . . . I think someone needs to borrow my bong."
by Grant Lawrence
March 21, 2008
"Dancable, catchy and infectious: The I Spies' album In The Night is a frenzy of "just got to get up and move" post-punk-pop.."
by Lisa Gasson
Mar 21, 2007
ALBUM REVIEW
"What feels like a story sucks you into its world and keeps you until the very last scene."
by Pam Nichol
Mar 2, 2008
I SPY(IES) MORE CANADIAN GOODNESS
"This album will be an indie hit. Catchy, catchy pop goodness; post-punk guitar pop, reminiscent of early 80s British rock."
by Joe Terry
Feb 24, 2008
"The disc moves at a lightning pace and showcases the band’s highly tuned ability to produce tight post-punk rock . . ."
by Erin Taylor
Feb 20, 2008
"THE I SPIES OWE SUCCESS TO THE MAN"
"Indie band got funding to make top-notch CD"
by Ben Rayner
Jan 31, 2008
"Who needs the Brit Box when there are plenty of real live bands keeping the spirit of jaunty, aggressive pop with cheery vocal harmonies and sneering frontmen?"
Jan 31, 2008
DISC REVIEW
" . . .this solidly rendered offering shows that the I Spies deserve to rise above the vanilla crop."
by Jason Keller
Jan 31, 2008
HAIKU - QUICK SPINS
"Someone remembers
Tommy Tutone, and they were
Paying attention."
Jan 24, 2008
ISPIES @ SNEAKY DEE'S
"Once this CD hits the masses, I can see The I Spies becoming a great Canadian export that anyone could easily fall in love with."
by Pam Nichol
Jan 11, 2008
CHART ATTACK FEATURE STORY
"Spies Get Smart In The Night."
Jan 11, 2008
THE I SPIES. IN THE NIGHT.
"Their CD is a collection of tight, well-crafted tunes that owes a fair bit - at least to these ears – to the inspiration provided by British rock of the late 1970s and early '80s."
by Tõnu Naelapea
Dec 27, 2007
THE I SPIES @ LEE'S PALACE
"They simply play really good pop songs that sound slightly reminiscent of all that was good about the era. I'm talking about bands like The Police, The Pretenders and, most of all, Elvis Costello."
Dec 19, 2007
ALBUM REVIEW
"If you like your music peppier than a lake of Red Bull and catchier than the plague, set your sights on the I Spies."
by Scott A. Gray
Nov 2007
POP MOTREAL
"I spy with my little eye a Toronto indie pop band playing some of the most unabashedly infectious pop songs at this year's festival."
Oct 2007
CD REVIEW: The I Spies – In the Night (Independent)
"The I Spies do frenzied, angular post-punk better than just about anyone in the Toronto scene. . ."
by Rob Duffy
Oct 2007
DISC-OVERY OF THE WEEK
"The i Spies make thoroughly solid indie rock"
by CHRIS RANDLE
Oct 4 2007
OVERALL NIGHT 8.8 (one of the best bets this summer)
"Immediately I was slapped with a wonderful wave of grungy dance rock yet it was somehow charming, dirty yet impossibly tight."
by Bryan Chateau
Aug 16 2007
Record Label: Government of Canada
Fontana North Distribution
Type of Label: None