If you like tight Harmonies and happy Canadians then this is the album for you.
Each day I drive at least 100km’s to and from work. This act has led to a veritable musical starvation. The main culprit of this melodious crime is Dutch Radio, which plays incredibly dull, monotonous music. But that rant is for another time and place.
Anyway, I was dying to hear some good new music. So one evening after work I drove straight to the Incendiary HQ and snuck into the Incendiary shed… I mean musical safe house and stole a CD at random, hoping it would be the one to fill my in-transit musical void.
This is how I discovered Yukon Blonde’s LP. They are a Canadian outfit who seem to be having the time of their lives if this album anything to go by. The album opens with "Rather Be With You" which presented me with a mind-scape of an office inhabited by a Chinese man: only to then take a left turn into the wilds of Canada. All to the dulcet tones of the main vocalist who must have been listening a lot to The Beatles as he managed pick up the vocal stylings of one of them (you’ll have to listen to it to work out which one) but this strangely only lasts for this song.
This album is a highly produced rich texture of singing guitars and tightly composed vocal harmonies that ride over the strong and inspired beats thumped out by the drummer. The tracks "Trivial Fires" and "Brides Song" earn a special mention as they actually managed to get those musical hairs on end with their rousing crescendo endings. This album has now become a firm favourite in my car and I reckon with the right people behind the scenes, these guys could be huge.
However I am left with two questions.
Firstly, can Yukon Blonde actual play with the same clarity and drive on a live stage and secondly what happened to the Chinese man in the government office?
Can anyone answer these questions for me?
Answers on a postcard etc…