"May summer rain wash away for we are hymns of night..."

Reviews of Burn Planetarium and The Junction

Burn Planetarium - Burn Planetarium EP

Although I reviewed an album called Valse Mechanique last year by this little five piece from Guelph, Burn Planetarium are referring to this self titled EP as their actual debut and although the production quality has certainly improved, the ingredients are still pretty much the same. The songs are catchy, jangly, shouty blasts of power pop that are fun to bop around to, even if they fail to explore any really new ground. It's hard to listen without thinking of all of the other Canadian bands that they obviously use as reference points in their creative process. The "uh oh woah-oh" that kicks off the first song Young Chameleon has Born Ruffians written all over it, while the shout along moments and jumpy melodies of obvious hits like Death! Death! Death! are clearly patterned after the juvenilia of Tokyo Police Club. From some of the comments that they've made on their myspace page, it's clear that they're not trying to hide the fact that they like to wear their influences on their sleeves, and if a catchy song is all you're looking for, than this is a pretty decent place to start. There are a couple of moments wear the band shows that the chance of expanding beyond the hyper teenage ditty is not beyond the realms of possibility. One of these is Chimney Sweep, which slows the tempo down just a tad and showcases just a touch of well placed twang before leaping into a pretty standard sounding chorus. The other more promising moment is on the album's second bonus track, which is apparently titled We Shall Meet Our End (By Means Of A Boy And His Magnifying Glass). It's a witty little number that gives off a singalong by the campfire vibe that shows that the band does have the ability to trade in their teenage tomfoolery in for something a little bit more substantial when they really want to. As enjoyable as this EP is, it would be nice to see them ride out the inventiveness displayed on that last track a little bit more when it comes times to release a proper full length.

Myspace: Burn Planetarium
Download: Death! Death! Death! mp3


The Junction - Another Link In the Chain

Brampton's The Junction perform some very straight forward pop rock fare that would be pretty run of the mill if left in less capable hands. The fact is though, that although their latest release has a lot of "heard it before" moments, I still can't help but enjoy it quite a bit. I was having a conversation with someone at a show recently, when I mentioned that a certain artist that we both enjoy wasn't doing anything very inventive anymore. This is when my friend made the very valid point that if you're good at something, than why do you need to be inventive when you can just be good? That sums up The Junction perfectly. When it comes to catchy hooky indie pop, they're good. Very good. All you have to do is listen to the album's first single My Love Was There to realize just how true this statement is. And this praise for the power of a summertime pop song, doesn't mean that there aren't any moments of innovation. No Road boasts some pretty powerful horns during the song's coda. Miles In Denial borrows from brit-poppers like The Verve to create something a little more atmospheric. And if you listen carefully, you'll notice a slightly new wavy bass line and keyboard sound in Out Of Here. A major highlight of the album is the 70's AM radio sounding closer Hymns Of Night which contains a beautiful reflective melody that evokes all of the feelings of a starry summertime night.

Photo of The Junction by David Waldam

Myspace: The Junction
Download: My Love Was There mp3