Sunday Music Spotlight - Plants and Animals

For this week’s Spotlight we head north, up to the wide open land where bacon is ham, healthcare is free, and the metric system is king.  Our tale starts in Nova Scotia, where two high school friends decide to form a band.  They head off to college in Montreal, where they hook up with a French-speaking native.  And the eclectic trio that would become Plants and Animals was complete.

The group started writing in earnest in 2003.  Over the next few years they played local shows, honed their sound, and recorded in their apartment.  Finally, last summer they completed their first album, Parc Avenue.  It was released in the US on March 25 of this year, and already it’s starting to make waves.

Parc Avenue is like a big bowl of Chex Mix.  There are a bunch of different textures and flavors and the whole is more than the sum of its parts.  There’s a little classic rock, a little folk, a little boogie, some fuzzed-out guitars.  There’s some Tom Petty, some Blue Oyster Cult, some Skynyrd, a dash of fellow Montrealers Arcade Fire.  In short, it’s a sound that’s constantly shifting and impossible to pin down.

Plants And Animals - Bye Bye Bye

No, it’s not an ‘N Sync cover.  The opening track on Parc Avenue sounds like an unreleased Queen song.  It alternates between delicate verses and anthemic choruses.  That dichotomy is representative of the different sides of Plants and Animals’ musical personality.

Plants And Animals - Feedback In The Field1

I’ve got to admit, I’m a sucker for songs that start with whistling.  “Feedback in the Field” is a good example of a Plants and Animals song that boogies.  To get a complete feel for the many sides of the band you really need to listen to the whole album though.  So go buy it.

Videos
Discussing Icelandic Livestock

“Good Friends”

Links
Buy Parc Avenue
Official Site
MySpace