Hamilton, Ontario's seven-man troupe The Rest have been busy in the woods working on their sophomore release Everyone All At Once. For the follow up to their 2007 debut Atlantis, Oh Our Saviour, the band absconded into some little houses out in the Canadian wilderness to concentrate on their music , described the experience as bringing a sense of clarity. The intent and the alleged result was to create a record where every song was their greatest moment, as opposed to a handful of great songs packaged between a handful of B sides.
The writing process seems reminiscent of the Red Hot Chilli Pepper’s seclusion during the recording of their ground breaking Blood Sugar Sex Magik record, yet this was no rock star odyssey in the spirit of Led Zepplin in their self indulgent heyday. Rather the band sweated and worked for this record to happen whilst simultaneously working full time jobs. Furthermore the alone time didn’t cause the band to over think and over complicate their songs, instead the group cited Roy Orbison as a key influence on the record: old school, straight forward, Pop sensibilities.
“Apples & Allergies” sets the tone with gentle melodies that hold your attention whilst possessing an evanescent kind of calming spiritualism.
“Blossom Babies Part Two” is reminiscent of 60’s Surf Rock bands such as The Surfaris and The Ventures, with strong floor tom, heavy bass drums, trebly guitar, which then almost blends into Space Rock, somehow mixing with a fantastic upbeat optimism worthy of a Beatles record.
“Coughing Blood” sounds similar to the song writing of Eric Bachmann of the now defunct Archers of Loaf (with songs such as “White Trash Heroes”) mixed with wavering falsetto vocal lines reminiscent of Jónsi Birgisson's (of Iceland’s Sigur Ros). The atmosphere is both deep and rich, reverb drenched and spooky but maintaining a certain warmth.
Meanwhile “Drinking Again” builds from a gentle ballad with the gentle vocal melodies being treated as an instrument that mingles with the other sounds, not dominating but rather adding to the textures. The track exhibits a Post Rock, or even pre-Rock influence of layers, as opposed to chunks of sound placed together, escaping the formulaic trappings of a 0101010 Rock song.
The title track “Everything All at Once” features baritone vocals and plodding bass that emerges into a bright and memorable butterfly of a Pop song. The lyrics warn the female protagonist, “Coco”, not to mix around with no good rascals, more well mannered harmonies and nicely placed strings being used as additional persuasive devices. The sound is rich, deep and detailed but without falling into the trappings of creating a overloaded sound (Devendra Banhart, you are guilty as charged).
“Modern Time Travel (necessities)”drifts in with gentle guitar mingling with pounding off beat drums, whispering apologetic vocals, sounding just a tad like Jet’s “Look What You’ve Done”, yet suddenly exploding into a wall of sound straight off a Phil Spector production. The disconcerting drum beat (1,2, huh?,4) and great vocal melodies mix in with snatches of strings and xylophone.
“Phonetically, Phonetically” possesses a determined piano line, with vocals and muted strings working away under the surface. The choir boy harmonies are haunting, nicely complementing the bright layered guitar riffs. Soon it stands up, revealing itself as another Beatles style upbeat effort with a whimsical fairy tale quality, especially in the lyrics:
“If I were a figure of speech,
I think I’d be erased,
[…]
“I could have been the gravy on thanks giving day”
The result is a beautifully crafted piece of music which is appealing and listener friendly but without trying too hard, holding good depth with its rollercoaster dynamics.
“Sheep In Wolves’ Clothing” is a little skiffle like number with an odd time signature and a banjo/ washboard duet to boot. The pitter patter drums slowly build, breaking into a rushed confession of how much better life could be under the sea (‘The Little Mermaid’ anyone?), accompanied by some storming banjo parts.
“The Lady Vanishes” begins with notes that seemingly ring on forever, the steady floor tom anchoring the ghost like howls of feedback. The sound mushroom clouds up into the atmosphere, dying down into the fallout, but not all the way. Almost classical overtones blend with choppy guitars and bass that drives away under the surface. The song is a fantasy amongst the clouds, floating around, half hidden from sight at times, dragon flies powered by lighting speed tremolo picked guitar whizzing past.
“Walk on Water (auspicious beginnings)” starts with moody organ, baritone strings and ringing piano keys, while the lyrics are like the page from the diary of a paranoid love sick insomniac. Harder drums rolls and tough guitar soon follow before tripping into a Doo Wop Soul style break with marching band drums and almost Latin piano parts, fading into a frantic wall of sound The Who would be proud of.
The overall sound of this record, the sonic model so to speak, is a democratic one: there is no over indulgence on each instruments behalf, representing the band’s ability as a collective to filter out what isn’t beneficial to the end product, always skimming the cream and saving it for later. The bright sounds and friendly melodies never get samey, always showing a good variety of musical ideas. The record sounds familiar yet implacable and certainly not a robotic Radiohead clone. It is more akin to taking a stroll through the woods by The Rest’s cottages, looking up at the sun coming though the trees and the birds singing above them with the band’s well crafted whimsical ballads floating up and mingling amongst the clouds.
Everyone All At Once was released on Auteur Recordings and is available on iTunes Canada as well as the label's site. For more on The Rest, check out their MySpace or web page.
MP3: The Rest - Blossom Babies Part Two
MP3: The Rest - Phonetically, Phonetically
0 Comments:
