Yup, that is a Canadian indie rock ass Canadian indie rock album!
I don't know what makes certain sectors of indie rock so identifiably Canadian to me (other than the direct naming of Canadian cities and so on), but if I didn't already know where this band was from, I'm reasonably sure I'd be able to guess. I went to a liberal arts college. You don't leave that experience without being able to tell the nuances between indie/alt rock bands, even if they're only slight. (Also something about the lead singer's voice reminds me of Raycevick.)
I'll be honest, I wasn't particularly looking forward to this. Or rather, I was looking forward to listening to it as I always look forward to listening to club stuff, but I wasn't confident I was going to like it. Indie rock and I have a bumpy relationship. I'm capable of liking it. Even loving it. But I grew up, and the emotionality people who grew up loving rock-oriented sounds imbue into indie rock frequently flies over my head. Or if I'm grumpy, I just think it's boring (If we ever do a hot takes post again, I'll do some indie rock takes.)
Thankfully the latter's not the problem here, and I left this album feeling pretty positive on it. It didn't rock my world or anything like that. But it did have an injection of energy I typically don't associate with indie rock. Some punk influence here and some power pop there. A variety in both its sonic palette and influences that gave me something to hold on to that makes it stand out to me.
It can get repetitive, some of the lyrics struck me as clunky, and the lead singer's voice isn't always for me. However, and I know this is kind of a weird compliment, if I cut my teeth on indie rock I could 100% see this as being my shit. It finds a really good balance between exploring much of what indie rock has to offer while also feeling personal. It didn't change my life, but it's solid.
Favorite Songs: "The Reasons" "Plea From a Cat Called Virtue" "Uncorrected Proofs"
Log in to comment