CHMA 106.9 FM CD Review: Feist / The Reminder

Artist: Feist
Album: The Reminder
Label: Arts & Crafts
Rating: 5/5

Writing about something you like or find interesting is always really difficult for some reason, while straightforward things always roll onto the page with great ease and are usually end up being boring. Occasionally, though, something comes along that is interesting, complicated, and yet easy to write, something that is easy to connect with fundamentally. The Reminder is one of these.
Ranging from her participation in Toronto’s Broken Social Scene music collective to the half-covers, half-originals of her previous release, Let It Die, Feist has covered a lot of musical ground. Yet, her music has never sounded at once as varied and emotionally concentrated as it does on The Reminder.
The sheer complexity of this record is cause for introspection. Feist seems to be doing everything at the same time within the span of thirteen songs. It’s all here, from the indie pop of “I Feel it All,” to the slowly meandering yet heart-wrenching acoustic track that is “The Park,” to the jazz of “The Limit to Your Love.” The songwriting here is only matched by the complexity of the instrumentation.
Nevertheless, Feist’s voice stands above it all and makes her a one-woman wrecking crew. In addition to its immediate beauty, the emotional intensity of her singing voice make this album what it is, and add levels of complexity beyond simple songwriting or instrumentation. To hear her voice quiver and then gain leverage while singing the words “but now I know I want to win the war” during “I Feel It All”, is enough to send shivers up the spine of any listener.
This is the one thread that weaves together a diverse tapestry of musical offerings. Despite the varied nature of its tracks, The Reminder ranges from undeniably catchy pop hooks, of which “I Feel It All” is the centerpiece, to complete album filler. This album somehow manages to add up to a complete listen.
Infinitely complex and yet accessible, I do declare The Reminder to be not only Feist’s best outing yet, but also the best release, so far, of 2007.

Standout Tracks: 2, 4, 7, 9, 10, 13. Now Playing on CHMA 106.9 FM.

CHMA 106.9 FM CD Review: Dog Day / Night Group

Artist: Dog Day
Album: Night Group
Label: Black Mountain Records
Rating: 4/5




Dog Day do melodic indie pop, and they do it to perfection. The makeshift band featuring members of other now-defunct Halifax bands such as The Burdocks truly achieve something special with their release of Night Group. This record is so concise, with so many hooks and catchy melodies, not to mention two and three minute songs, that it is difficult to listen once through without hitting the repeat button at least once. However, that which makes Night Group so appealing in the first place is also what makes it so shallow, and leaves Dog Day among the middle echelon of indie pop groups: these songs tend to get repetitive and tiresome on repeat listens and reveal little depth. Nevertheless, anyone who has ever had a song stuck in their head before will understand this band. A stellar achievement, Night Group puts Dog Day on the map.

Standout Tracks: 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12. Now Playing on CHMA 106.9 FM.

CHMA 106.9 FM CD Review: The Joel Plaskett Emergency / Ashtray Rock

Artist: The Joel Plaskett Emergency
Album: Ashtray Rock
Label: Maple Music Recordings
Rating: 4/5



Sometimes the line between artistic value and rock and roll music is a fine one that most artists find difficult to tiptoe. Joel Plaskett and the Emergency, on Ashtray Rock, don’t even bother with the whole thing. In something of a departure from his other albums, Plaskett sings songs that don’t pay any mind to what anyone (be they music critics, boyfriends, or anyone who doesn’t like to fight) might have to say about them.
That said, from beginning to end, Ashtray Rock nevertheless does something of a shift of attitude, if not a complete u-turn. While the album starts with the sound of basketballs in a high-school gym (which, coincidentally enough, sound like fireworks), giving way to a strummed guitar with a melody and chord progression lamenting the death of his band. Thirty seconds later, Plaskett is singing about starting a fight, taking a piss, and drunk teenagers puking their guts out.
Somehow, though, Plaskett manages to make the two seemingly polar opposites come together somewhere in the course of this record, as he seems to do with any number of polar opposites on this record. First, musically: “Face of the Earth” weds emotional touchy-feely lyrics and an acoustic guitar with full-band rock and roll arrangements. Second, emotionally: the “Chinatown/For the Record” and “the Instrumental Suite” sees Plaskett undergoing some kind of a temporal and emotional shift in his life. All I can think of when hearing these two songs is the sound of basketballs in a high-school gym, and possibly a graduation ceremony. He’s wondering what happens after this: “where you will be when the smoke all clears?” Minutes later, once again, enter the electric guitars, but Plaskett doesn’t sing on this one. Instead, we hear a girl starting to talk of air smelling like flowers and her parents making her sell her car. Suddenly, in the span of two songs, this record is beginning to make sense and reminds you of why Plaskett is truly one of Canada’s rock gems.
This record has been made a thousand times before; basically just think of any coming-of-age movie and you’ve got the basic atmosphere. Plaskett’s approach, however, sets this apart from other rock records in that it somehow manages to wed artistic value with rock and roll, all with an effortlessness that doesn’t really seem to notice.

Standout tracks: 2, 7, 10, 11. Now Playing on CHMA 106.9 FM.

CHMA 106.9 FM CD Review: The Wooden Stars / People Are Different

Artist: The Wooden Stars
Album: People Are Different
Rating: 3/5
Label: Sonic Unyon Records



Their first album in eight years, Canadian music scene mainstays The Wooden Stars are back for another go around the bend. Not much is really new here, but The Wooden Stars themselves have always been different enough already that they don’t really need to reinvent themselves on every song. For the older fan, it’s all here: time signature shifts, melodic indie beats, and bouncy guitars. That said, the Wooden Stars aren’t about to make any new fans with this record, and they certainly aren’t breaking any of the new ground in a similar manner to what they did when first arriving on the scene in the 1990’s.This, however, isn’t all that bad: the best songs on this record see them retreading older ground and following a familiar path. “Microphone” is truly a stellar achievement, as its pounding guitars combined with Mike Feuerstack’s oddly sincere-sounding singing voice provide a retread of the elements that have The Wooden Stars so influential in the first place. “Blackouts” achieves a similar result using a different method. The band achieves less success elsewhere, as other tracks range from boring to uninteresting. The Wooden Stars, nevertheless, show that they still have it.

Standout Tracks: 2, 3, 4, 8. Now Playing on CHMA 106.9 FM.