Provincial Parks - Iron Parks EP

The backlog of CD's that I have to listen to and review is reaching the point of unmanageable, but I don't anticipate that I'll be heading out to a great wealth of shows over the next few days so maybe I'll get the chance to finally post a CD review or two.

I finally gave a listen to a few of them over the past week, and the one that stood out the most to me was the Iron Ponies EP by Provincial Parks. Will, Rich, Scotty and Pete all live together in the same house in the suburbs of Toronto (?), and they all met through craigslist. When you listen to the EP, it's actually quite amazing that these guys don't really have any other history with each other prior to the band, because the symmetry between the band members is uncanny. I'm saying this in terms of instrumentation, harmony and overall musical mood. Chemistry like this usually takes years to nourish, decades to cultivate. But Provincial Parks make it seem effortless, as each song on the EP eclipses the one before it. The production is so pristine that it's hard to believe that it was recorded in the band's basement. Some of the songs have a harder edged stadium sound to them (Open Grave, Scenes and Faces) while other songs are steeped in handclaps and melody (Love/Confidence). The title track is a mainly instrumental piece that is downright baroscopic as it segues into the beautifully epic The Wasp and the Dragonfly. This may be kind of an obscure reference for the regular readers of my blog, but it reminds me of some of the atmospheric renderings of Eric Johnson, minus the overwrought guitar explorations. The standout track for me is Young Bride, which is interesting in the sense that while it's not a cover of the Midlake song that shares its name, it seems to come from a similar point of reference. The chorus boasts some mesmerisingly stunning vocal work that is straight out of the Fleetwood Mac handbook, while the melody pulsates with ebullience. The song is beautiful, simply beautiful. The final song is an instrumental electronic left turn with the humorous title Too Indie For The CBC, which is a perfect album ender, but also a great way to whet the listener's appetite for what may be coming next. If the band has more output like this in store for the future, then a lot of people are going to be familiar with the works of Provincial Park in the years to come.

Above photo by Stef Town

Myspace: Provincial Parks
Download: Young Bride mp3

Other stuff:
Did you watch the Grammy's on Sunday night? Yah, me neither, but apparently Green Day subtly name dropped the title of their upcoming new album, which will be entitled 21st Century Breakdown. It sounds like it's going to be another ambitious project, with the songs divided into three acts namely: i) Heroes and Cons; ii) Charlatans and Saints; and iii) Horse Shoes and Hand Grenades. There's some information about it at USA Today. [Myspace: Green Day]

While we're in 90's mode, For The Records informs us that The Presidents of the United States of America are coming to Lee's Palace on April 21st. I'm actually tempted to go. I kinda liked those guys. [Myspace: Presidents of the United States of America]

And if we can slink back to the 80's for a bit, UK Ska legends The English Beat are also playing Lee's Palace on Friday April 17th. Tix are 23.50 adv. [Myspace: The English Beat]

If you're unable to make it out to see The Von Bondies at The Horseshoe on Friday February 13th, then check out their free in-store at Criminal Records earlier in the day at 5pm. [Myspace: Von Bondies]

Local indie music guru Doc Pickles is co-hosting this week's Zygiella podcast. [Myspaces: Zygiella, Doc Pickles]

This month's issue of Canadian Musician Magazine contains a four page interview with each of the separate members of Sloan. Word on the street is that they are going to be playing a couple of nights at The Mod Club on March 11 & 12th for CMW. [Myspace: Sloan]