reviews continued...
But new folk music can
be edgy, provocative, and fresh.
When Jennifer Castle declares
with her unique , born in the
woods, liquid and reedy vocals,
“I lift my skirt for the econom y,”
I sigh in relief and know that this
is not a r igid reflection of what
“ought to be” . Throughout the
emotionally-driven,
spacious,
and searching Pink City, listeners
are treated to an expansion of
folk foundations that ruminates
in unguarded words. With Owen
Pallett string flourishes, the wellplaced presence of woodwind
solos, and field-recorded samples,
Pink City is filled with rich texture
and variation. This is a treasure of
new singer-songwriter folk.
– Brennan Anderson
almost changed my opinion of the
band. Almost.
Consider that the alb um
wanders through a sludgy dreampop land of the past
where
distorted guitars waft a purple pot
haze and vocal harmonies flutter
around, sounding r eminiscent
of the Beac h Boys. What’s not
to like? Sure their lyrics may be
overly simple and the mixing
may not be to everyone’s liking
(looking at you Mr. Henry) but
does that really matter? When a
sound hits my ears as an inventive,
fun, and perhaps slightly sarcastic
recreation of 1960s psyc hedelic
music, then I don’t care if you are
the Queen of England denouncing
its value, I am still stic king two
thumbs up for Monomyth.
CICK shows that you
might hear Monomyth on:
Outside-In, The Abyss.
– Glen Ingram
Monomyth | Saturnalia
Regalia!
Mint Records
While researching the ne w
Halifax-based 1960s throwback
band Monomyth, I stumb led on
a review of the record written by
Suuns guitarist, Max Henry. I love
Suuns. The review eloquently and
expertly slammed Monomyth’s
debut record to the point where I
Leyland Kirby presents
V/Vm | The Death of Rave
(A Partial Flashback)
History Always Favours the
Winners
Leyland Kirby is a m usical
archeologist of sorts, who
resurfaces vestiges of music’s past
to project sound forward through
experiments in manipula tion.
Under various monikers—Vvm,
Caretaker, and his epon ymous
coming out as Le yland Kirby—
he has transfor med classical,
jazz, and pop music by sampling,
stretching, perforating and r econtextualizing sonic elements
within. His aesthetic plays on
memory and nostalg ia, while
creating something ne w and
virtually unrecognizable, layering
levels of nuanced meaning and
interpretation. Kirby appeals
to the timeless elements in
music that we are drawn to. He
compresses time and connects
generations, showing us ho w
music will always stay the same,
while continually changing. Our
humanness dictates that we find
new ways to pr esent familiar
emotions that help us make sense
of our existence. Kirby bottles
this time-sensitive timelessness
in the abstract.
In Kirby’s The Death
of Rave he recalls the moment
rave music “died”. The genre,
he explains, lost its potenc y of
expression and the need to move
on was clear. This is a requiem for
that culture. Rave music samples
are stretched and slo wed to the
extent that they are completely
unrecognizable; long, patient
drones pummel the listener into
awed submission. This is m usic
that should be pla yed as loud as
possible. Only at high v olumes
can the subtle d ynamic shifts
throughout surface. Only at
15
[sic] fall 2014.indd 16
14-10-07 7:00 PM