PLANTS AND ANIMALS
''WALTZED IN FROM THE RUMBLING''
APRIL 29 2016
41:43
**********
01 - We Were One 04:53
02 - No Worries Gonna Find Us 04:50
03 - Fata Morgana 01:13
04 - Stay 03:07
05 - All Of The Time 03:39
06 - So Many Nights 03:45
07 - Flowers 03:04
08 - Je voulais te dire 07:00
09 - Off The Water 04:06
10 - Johnny Is A Drummer 02:34
11 - Pure Heart 03:26
All Tracks By Plants And Animals
**********
CREDITS/AMG
Victor Alibert/Clarinet
Nicolas Basque/Group Member
Emma Baxter/Vocals
Zac Decamp/Vocals
Caroline Desilets/Vocals
François Lafontaine/Keyboards
Gabriel Ledoux/Horn Arrangements, String Arrangements
Ensemble Magnitude6/Horn
Katie Moore/Vocals
Jessica Moss/Violin
Quatuor El Pieto/Strings
Mariléne Provencher-Leduc/Flute
Nico Puente/Percussion
Mishka Stein/Bass
Adéle Trottier-Rivard/Vocals
Warren C. Spicer/Group Member
Matthew Woodley/Group Member
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REVIEW/AMG
Timothy Monger
Since debuting in the mid-2000s, Montreal-based indie outfit Plants and Animals have built a reputation for sturdy pop-minded songcraft and high-quality, often intricate musicianship. Creatively, their ambitions have often extended beyond their personnel's relatively Spartan number (three), and that can certainly be said for Waltzed in from the Rumbling, the group's fourth outing. Recorded over a two-year period during which members Nicolas Basque, Warren C. Spicer, and Matthew Woodley chose family life over constant touring, the album bears the detailed stamp of extended studio toil. From sprawling experimental opuses like opener "We Were One" and the impressive seven-minute "Je Voulais Te Dire" to more intimate and laid-back fare like "Johnny Is a Drummer," they cover a lot of ground on these 11 tracks. Sonically, Waltzed in from the Rumbling is a well-stocked pantry of unique ideas that interlock in beautiful clarity. The watery grooves of the tight-knit "Off the Water" and the dark pop pulse of "No Worries Gonna Find Us" are highlights in both form and content. Ironically, the strange melding of nervy Radiohead-style delivery and lush chamber pop that serves as a big part of the album's identity also makes parts of it feel more detached than it should. There's a wintry undertone to many of the tracks that is at odds with the band's luxuriant arrangements, dimming the flames ever so slightly, but enough to notice. It may be an intentional shift, but the soulful resonance of 2012's The End of That has given way to an artful experimentalism that, while musically impressive, doesn't make as big an impact. Still, it's an ambitious near miss from a very good band that has proven it can be both cerebral and heartfelt. If Plants and Animals can successfully unite these two halves, it's going to be something to look forward to.
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
James Christopher Monger
Montreal-based indie rock trio Plants and Animals formed in 2004 around the talents of Warren Spicer (guitar, vocals), Matthew Woodley (drums, percussion, vocals), and Nicolas Basque (guitar, bass, vocals). The band's genre-jumping sound blends rootsy, acoustic-heavy folk and country with elements of classic and progressive rock. Their self-titled debut was released in 2005, followed by another EP, With/Avec, in 2007 and finally a full-length album, Parc Avenue, in 2008, the latter of which was shortlisted for the 2008 Polaris Music Prize and nominated for a 2009 Juno Award. Plants and Animals released La La Land in 2010, which also landed on the Polaris Music Prize shortlist. Arriving in 2012, the Secret City Records-issued The End of That landed its title track in the closing credits of the 2013 film Drinking Buddies, and in 2016 the band released its fourth studio long-player, Waltzed in from the Rumbling, again via Secret City.
**********
WEBSITE
**********
TO THE TOP
**********
''WALTZED IN FROM THE RUMBLING''
APRIL 29 2016
41:43
**********
01 - We Were One 04:53
02 - No Worries Gonna Find Us 04:50
03 - Fata Morgana 01:13
04 - Stay 03:07
05 - All Of The Time 03:39
06 - So Many Nights 03:45
07 - Flowers 03:04
08 - Je voulais te dire 07:00
09 - Off The Water 04:06
10 - Johnny Is A Drummer 02:34
11 - Pure Heart 03:26
All Tracks By Plants And Animals
**********
CREDITS/AMG
Victor Alibert/Clarinet
Nicolas Basque/Group Member
Emma Baxter/Vocals
Zac Decamp/Vocals
Caroline Desilets/Vocals
François Lafontaine/Keyboards
Gabriel Ledoux/Horn Arrangements, String Arrangements
Ensemble Magnitude6/Horn
Katie Moore/Vocals
Jessica Moss/Violin
Quatuor El Pieto/Strings
Mariléne Provencher-Leduc/Flute
Nico Puente/Percussion
Mishka Stein/Bass
Adéle Trottier-Rivard/Vocals
Warren C. Spicer/Group Member
Matthew Woodley/Group Member
**********
REVIEW/AMG
Timothy Monger
Since debuting in the mid-2000s, Montreal-based indie outfit Plants and Animals have built a reputation for sturdy pop-minded songcraft and high-quality, often intricate musicianship. Creatively, their ambitions have often extended beyond their personnel's relatively Spartan number (three), and that can certainly be said for Waltzed in from the Rumbling, the group's fourth outing. Recorded over a two-year period during which members Nicolas Basque, Warren C. Spicer, and Matthew Woodley chose family life over constant touring, the album bears the detailed stamp of extended studio toil. From sprawling experimental opuses like opener "We Were One" and the impressive seven-minute "Je Voulais Te Dire" to more intimate and laid-back fare like "Johnny Is a Drummer," they cover a lot of ground on these 11 tracks. Sonically, Waltzed in from the Rumbling is a well-stocked pantry of unique ideas that interlock in beautiful clarity. The watery grooves of the tight-knit "Off the Water" and the dark pop pulse of "No Worries Gonna Find Us" are highlights in both form and content. Ironically, the strange melding of nervy Radiohead-style delivery and lush chamber pop that serves as a big part of the album's identity also makes parts of it feel more detached than it should. There's a wintry undertone to many of the tracks that is at odds with the band's luxuriant arrangements, dimming the flames ever so slightly, but enough to notice. It may be an intentional shift, but the soulful resonance of 2012's The End of That has given way to an artful experimentalism that, while musically impressive, doesn't make as big an impact. Still, it's an ambitious near miss from a very good band that has proven it can be both cerebral and heartfelt. If Plants and Animals can successfully unite these two halves, it's going to be something to look forward to.
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
James Christopher Monger
Montreal-based indie rock trio Plants and Animals formed in 2004 around the talents of Warren Spicer (guitar, vocals), Matthew Woodley (drums, percussion, vocals), and Nicolas Basque (guitar, bass, vocals). The band's genre-jumping sound blends rootsy, acoustic-heavy folk and country with elements of classic and progressive rock. Their self-titled debut was released in 2005, followed by another EP, With/Avec, in 2007 and finally a full-length album, Parc Avenue, in 2008, the latter of which was shortlisted for the 2008 Polaris Music Prize and nominated for a 2009 Juno Award. Plants and Animals released La La Land in 2010, which also landed on the Polaris Music Prize shortlist. Arriving in 2012, the Secret City Records-issued The End of That landed its title track in the closing credits of the 2013 film Drinking Buddies, and in 2016 the band released its fourth studio long-player, Waltzed in from the Rumbling, again via Secret City.
**********
WEBSITE
**********
TO THE TOP
**********
