When Toronto’s Still Life Still appeared in 2009 with full-length debut Girls Come Too (QRO review), they seemed like another chip off the Arts & Craft block, trafficking in the same expansive indie-rock that made labelmate Broken Social Scene (QRO spotlight on) so huge. It was a welcome sound, but if you lived in Toronto, you could very well have been a bit sick of it by then. For follow-up Mourning Trance, STS wisely edge away from their Canadian brethren by embracing indie-dance.
Mourning is best when Still Life Still up the speed, like the rapid-fire toe-tapping rhythm to “Dancing Spines”. “In Enemies” evokes the best of Northern Ireland’s Two Door Cinema Club (QRO live review). Not all pieces are as fine – the record would have been better suited had the similar title track not followed “Dancing”, nor the similar “Revolving Doors” after “Enemies” (“Doors” evokes the rest of Two Door…). Yet there are also some strong numbers were the band goes more chill, such as opener “Burial Suit” or middle song “Werewolves” (though again, not all chill songs are as chill – the darker “Aim and React” feels a bit too cool).
Seemingly everyone in indie-rock is embracing the electronic dance floor these days, so Still Life Still’s shift comes as no surprise. However, they are one of the indie-rock bands doing the electro-dance shift better.
Still Life Still – In Enemies
