Grimes โ Visions
Visions is the new record from 24 year-old Claire Boucher (a.k.a Grimes), a native of Vancouver who went to school at McGill in Montreal, QC. This is Boucherโs third album, and certainly her most critically acclaimed. Grimes recorded the Visions album using Appleโs GarageBand. This serves as a testament to the power of todayโs technology: that an album recorded using a piece of free software and not a flashy, multi-million dollar studio, can be nominated for a prestigious prize such as the Polaris.
Her playful, chanty, hard to decipher falsetto makes a perfect companion to the electronic synth-pop basslines. The blend creates a very addictive atmosphere that makes it hard to stay still. Songs like โOblivionโ and โNightmusicโ change and shift in fascinating ways that show how flexible Grimesโ sound is.
The tracks are layered heavily. Boucherโs voice is sampled, looped and played on top of other samples in many new and innovative ways. Most of the songs have a very similar style, so one may find the tracks to bleed together and are hard to differentiate, especially if you arenโt following along with the tracklist. As an album, there doesnโt seem to be much of an overarching theme other than perhaps โit is party time, dance aroundโ.
-Adam Lazzarato
YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN โ YT//ST
Itโs is extremely difficult to describe Yamantaka//Sonic Titan โ if their name doesnโt express that strangeness already. And itโs difficult to determine if thatโs a good thing or a bad one. Definitely the most experimental album on the short-list this year, Yamantaka // Sonic Titan are bold, detailed and just, well, different. If you took MGMT and bred it with Animal Collective and Fang Island while raising it in Japan you kind of get this band โ kind of.
Tracks such as โCrystal Fortress Over the Sea of Treesโ, arguably the strongest, are complex and multi-layered, that a multiple listens are sometimes required. The band also intend their shows to be an arts collective, with the live show becoming more of an opera or theatre performance. At times, itโs like that visual element needed to really enjoy the album, for it to be some sort of โexperienceโ instead of just a song. These types of concept albums are sometimes good, but the listener needs to really be invested into the music to really enjoy it. Itโs definitely not meant for casual listening.
-Justin Smirlies
Feist โ Metals
Leslie Feist, a member of the recessed Canadian indie rock collective Broken Social Scene and a Nova Scotia native released her latest album, Metals in October of 2011. Feistโs hit single โ1, 2, 3, 4โ was famously featured in an Apple iPod nano commercial in 2007. Possibly raw from the media attention, and the cycle of touring behind The Reminder, Feist was โemotionally deafโ, and held no interest in playing music for two years. When she got back to the studio and released Metals, the result was a decidedly different sound and attitude.
The instrumentation on Metals differs from The Reminder in that there is a more complete string and brass section, creating a fuller, more orchestral sound. These instruments and percussion are played in a very commanding and dark manner, especially on songs like โGraveyardโ and โUndiscovered First.โ Feistโs guitar has also been fixed with more distortion and reverb at times, which adds a new dimension to her sound, unseen on The Reminder.
Of course, Feistโs voice is exceptional, and stays strong throughout the album. Tracks like โThe Bad in Each Otherโ and โAnti-Pioneer โdemonstrate just how powerful Feistโs voice can sound. Her impressive range and adjustable style present the many emotions found on this album with extreme purity and honesty.
-Adam Lazzarato
Drake โ Take Care
Clocking in at well over an hour, Drakeโs Take Care is a clear improvement over 2010โs Thank Me Now. It is a cohesive body of work that demands attention from fans of rap and hip-hop, and general fans of masterful artists equally. Take Care explores themes such as a life in the spotlight, overnight success and friendship. With well over 75 names on the credits list, Drake clearly made Take Care a team effort. Feature spots supercede age and genre (eg. Chantel Kreviazuk, Jamie xx). Drake also finds plenty of time on the album for his crew from Young Money Entertainment and Cash Money Records, which serves as great promotion for their artists.
Since itโs release in November 2011, the album has become a cultural phenomenon not only in Drakeโs beloved Toronto, but also worldwide. Maxims such as YOLO (You Only Live Once) and HYFR (Hell Ya, Fu*king Right) have become commonplace in the vocabulary of todayโs young adults.
Musically speaking, Take Care demonstrates the same extreme versatility in Drakeโs style as he displayed on Thank Me Now. Styles range from straight, strong hip-hop beats (โHeadlines,โ โWeโll Be Fine,โ โLord Knowsโ) to more vocally-focused tracks (โThe Real Her,โ โDoing it Wrongโ). This blend of styles creates many monumental moments on the record that will keep you coming back for more.
-Adam Lazzarato
Cadence Weapon โ Hope In Dirt City
The 26 year-old Rollie Pemberton has been very busy recently. Edmontonโs poet laureate, and a member of the National Parks Project, it took longer than expected for him to release his third album, Hope in Dirt City. Some may recognize Cadence Weapon from the Cineplex Backstage Pass pre-show interview which provided great exposure for the album. Pemberton describes โDirt Cityโ (his nickname for Edmonton), as a โself-deprecating rally cryโ.
Pemberton gives a very honest effort to make his music sound like early rap or โproto-rapโ. Live instrumentation on the album makes the overall product sound more organic, and less like similar rap albums in todayโs day and age. Cadence Weaponโs vocals are the source of many of this albums flaws, but they are not without their merits. His verses sound monotonous and lack emotion. There are moments, however, that the rap style is shed and powerful, loud rock-style vocals come through like on โConditioningโ and โJukeboxโ.
There is plenty to be excited for in the future from Cadence Weapon. The fusion between rock and rap styles is very interesting, as is his interest in sounding like older rap music and Stevie Wonder. Also, his versatile voice, once polished can become one of the more interesting and unique voices in the genre.
-Adam Lazzarato
Handsome Fursย โ Sound Kapital
The Montreal duo Handsome Furs consist of Dan Boeckner (of the now on-hiatus Wolf Parade) and his wife Alexei Perry. The band has now broken up, which makes Sound Kapital their final record as a band.
The Handsome Furs have changed their sound a considerable amount since their last album, giving the Perryโs keyboards control over Danโs guitars. The industrial, grinding sound of the keyboards drive a lot of the rhythm. Often, there are no drums to be heard, and when they are, it is for the most part a looping drum beat. Boecknerโs guitars add texture and add variation to the keyboardโs tones.
Even for a duo, some of the songs seem thin. There are not enough voices or variation in tracks like โWhen I Get Backโ or โWhat About Us.โ
-Adam Lazzarato
Japandroids โ Celebration Rock
Easily one of the most impressive albums on the short-list, Celebration Rock is energetic, livelyย and powerful. The raw noises of the guitar and the chanting vocals come together beautifully, making the listener move to the tunes involuntarily.
The BC natives have come a long way from their previous effort Post-Nothing. While their sound remains, the great aspect about Celebration Rock is that itโs simple enough for everyone to enjoy โ remaining genuine and not super pretentious or overwhelming. Tracks such as โFireโs Highwayโ, โThe House That Heaven Builtโ and โContinuous Thunderโ easily demonstrate the energy that the Japandroids have. It wouldnโt be a suprise if they win the top prize.
-Justin Smirlies
Kathleen Edwards โ Voyageur
The Justin Vernon produced Voyageur is another one of the many female singers nominated for the Polaris this year, but unfortunately it fails to be as impressive as her counterparts. This is not to say the album is bad; the catchy chorus of the albumโs opening song โEmpty Threatโ will resonate in your head all day.
One track that really stands out is โChange the Sheetsโ that clearly demonstrates that Edwards has versatility. In addition, Voyageur ends on a really strong note with โFor the recordโ. While a very enjoyable album, the at-times conventional and โpoppyโ sounds of her songs donโt leave a big enough impression compared to the other artists on the short-list this year.
-Justin Smirlies
Cold Specks โ I Predict a Graceful Expulsion
The first LP by Cold Specks, who is also known under the pseudonym of Al Spx, is a brilliant feat. With her soothing, yet haunting vocals, and the albumโs focus on simple and rhythmic guitar work, Cold Specks is easily one of the best albums in Canadian music this year. Her voice is so good that it by itself can carry the album.
With tracks such as โThe City Lights Dimโ, โHollandโ, โBlank Mapsโ, Cold Specks exuberates considerable talent. The only point where the album falls somewhat short is that many of the guitar riffs sound similar, almost to the point where some of the songs donโt sound distinguishable until she starts singing. However, a minor issue that you might not even notice because youโll undeniably be memorized by her voice.
-Justin Smirlies
Fucked Up! โ David Comes to Life
David Comes to Life, from the 2009 Polaris winners, Fucked Up, is a well-thought out and their most mature album to date. To top The Chemistry of the Common Life could of seemed impossible for Fucked Up, but they came close in doing so. Incredibly close.
The album takes commitment and multiple listens to understand what Fucked Up are getting at. Clocking in at over 77 minutes, David Comes to Life โ a four-act rock opera โ is ambitious, perhaps too ambitious for its own good. By keeping with the same level of raw intensity heard their previous effort, Fucked Upโs latest album is definitely worth a listen โ if you have the time.
-Justin Smirlies
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