Burn Planetarium - Valse Mechanique

Burn Planetarium are a rockin' little four piece from Guelph, Ontario that specialize in a very hip sounding teenage punk sound. This is the type of music that I would've devoted all of my time to in the late 90's, but only have a mild fascination for these days. That doesn't mean that it isn't worth a listen though. The album is called Valse Mechanique, and despite sporting a plethora of spelling errors, there are some very catchy tunes contained on this 30 minute disc. There's definitely plenty of room for improvement but their enthusiasm and lyrical prowess certainly made me pay more than the usual attention. They remind me of another local band that I really enjoyed about 10 years ago called The Pettit Project (who apparently are still around but now call themselves Love You To Death. Huh, who knew?) If you've heard of them, and you like them, then spend some time with this one. Some of the standout tracks are Werewolf By Night, which boasts a slight dance groove, and a funky bass line accompanied by an infectious dual shouting vocal. New Way To Love dabbles in the new wave, sounding a bit like early Police crashing a Bloc Party. And We Were Stenographers is the most adventurous track on the CD, sporting a pretty spastic groove for the first 3 minutes before taking an acoustic turn in a different direction for its conclusion. I'd like to hear more songs like this from them in the future. In short, the potential for greatness is here and this is still a pretty solid first album.

I've just noticed that Burn Planetarium is playing a TWM showcase at Rancho Relaxo on May 3rd for a measly $6. Suh-weet!

Download: Snake Fight At The Octagon mp3

Myspace: Burn Planetarium