Montreal Trio Tantalize In Full Length Debut 

Guitarists-vocalists Warren Spicer and Nic Basque, along with drummer-vocalist Matthew Woodley released what will be one of the best indie albums of 2008. Montreal is producing some of the best music in the indie scene and this album definitely showcases Montreal’s talent pool (the album even features Arcade Fire’s Sarah Neufeld on the strings). Parc Avenue is hard to define in terms of musical style. When listening to “New Kind of Love” I get a folk rock vibe. “Faerie Dance” is combination of melodic harmony, gutsy guitar, and ends with a classic rock anthem. It’s hard to pinpoint genres and similar sounding bands. The band-mates have masterfully draped their melodies over a plethora of unique sounds, arrangements, and tempos.

Some classic rock artists that popped out at me while listening to the album for the first time were Neil Young (think entire Greendale album), David Bowie (think It Ain’t Easy), Nick Drake (think Paper Moon), Led Zeppelin (think Page’s guitar work in Going to California), too just name a few. To clarify, Plants and Animals in no way sound old; they are totally unique and use a variety of modern techniques. They just stick to their roots in Parc Avenue. The rustic analog sounds are reminiscent of the recordings from the 60’s and early 70’s. In an interview with montrealmirror.com, Spicer reflects on why they are in fact Plants and Animals, ”We’re Plants and Animals ’cause we make music that’s honest like a dog drinking water or a tree falling on a car and we do it with nothing but two guitars and a drum kit so we’re not trying to fool anyone.”  This is an honest album, with honest sounds. “Good Friend”, “Early in The Morning”, and “À L’orée Des Bois” are a few gems that stood out to me as genuine examples of great folk-rock music that stays true to it’s roots.  

 ~TJK

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