Secret City, 2008
Written by Chris Fore Tuesday, 18 March 2008
With the greatest of ease, decoration and grit overlap on Plants and Animals' debut album.
Elaborate orchestral movements and feathery pianos meld with driving rock rhythms and George Harrison-esque designs all over Parc Avenue. It's an excellent blend of rich, acoustic sways, electric grandeur, and a sense of true comradeship in the vocals.
Parc Avenue succeeds as a rare bridge between generations. 70's rock standards seem to sketch the album's structure, while everything we've learned since fills the space. Buzzing guitars and unusually quick drums give it a distinct "now" feel, while the chugging tempos recall a lot of the epic rock from thirty years ago. The opening "Bye Bye Bye" is an acoustic-based bar jam with backing vocals that evokes Beatle-infused anthems. "Good Friend" coasts along a sneaky shuffle before giving into inspired string inflections. Tracks like the cool back porch ballad "À L'orée Des Bois" and the gospel-on-fire "Mercy" show the wide range that Plants and Animals have between softer melancholy and louder feel-good tracks.
For a debut, Parc Avenue is extremely well-developed both within the songs and as a whole. It's complex and inspiring at times and calm and soothing at others, and the band's ability to pick these moments is impressive.
MP3 Stream: "Bye Bye Bye"
-Chris Fore
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With the greatest of ease, decoration and grit overlap on Plants and Animals' debut album.
Elaborate orchestral movements and feathery pianos meld with driving rock rhythms and George Harrison-esque designs all over Parc Avenue. It's an excellent blend of rich, acoustic sways, electric grandeur, and a sense of true comradeship in the vocals.
