Blurring the lines between the desolate plucks of Sufjan Stevens and the bleak musical meanderings through barren wildernesses of Midlake, if the grandiose of Arcade Fire’s 'Neon Bible' was all a bit blazon so much so that it wouldn’t be all that far out of place on a car ad then this Canadian troupe could offer great resolution. Whisking together otherworldly boy-girl harmonies, minimally ghostly orchestration and forlorn lyrics, it’s a stones throw or two away from the British assaults on the recession and the disarray of the nation from hotheads Gallows and saviours of the Cov lad-rock trademark The Enemy. Yet so enchanting is its twee rustling that take a torch into the bushes and if you’re lucky enough to stumble upon upcoming single Cities of Weather they’ve prised the epic climax from the hallucinatory hands of Explosions in the Sky and Sigur Rós, proving both that it can be achieved in under seventeen minutes and that it doesn’t require a pedal board worth more than your mortgage. Lifted from effortlessly seductive and optimistic record 'Treasury Library Canada' it weaves itself within the sumptuous fifteen tracks contained within its faded, understated but never jaded wrapper. Whilst its unveiling maybe can’t quite be compared with one of Johnny Depp’s golden tickets it’s a veritably enlightening experience.
They tour the UK this week, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of everywhere from Bracknell to Stockton-on-Tees as part of the Phrased & Confused tour before they grace Brighton as part of this year’s Great Escape Festival, returning once more come August joining the likes of Mogwai and The Horrors at East London’s folk fête Field Day on the Village Mentality Stage before heading northwards with Bon Iver et al to Leicester’s Summer Sundae.
Treasury Library Canada is the latest release from End of the Road Records and is out now .
Woodpigeon- Cities of Weather
Café Tacvba- Volver a Comenzar (from the twee genius that was Little Big Planet, making gaming oh so nearly acceptable again)
Pick up Treasury Library Canada here
