Having already been enthusiastically reviewed live by our very own Sian Claire Owen, hugely promising Canadians LAND OF TALK's debut album 'Applause Cheer Boo Hiss' finally pokes its' head above the UK parapet to the sound of persistent Chinese whispers about their long-term potential.
And it's not hard to hear why, because 'Applause...' makes it abundantly clear that the Montreal-based trio led by guitarist/ vocalist Elizabeth Powell know a thing or thirty-three about whipping up a righteous maelstrom of precedent-free power-pop cut with strains of Math-rock heaviosity: all of which makes for a heady, if sometimes unnerving listening experience.
Initially released on their own Maple Music imprint as a seven-track affair, 'Applause...' now comes beefed up with three new tunes and the ever-vigilant One Little Indian seal of approval. Along the lines of landmark debuts such as Hendrix's 'Are You Experienced?', The Fall's 'Live At The Witch Trials' and Crass's 'Feeding Of The 5000', It was recorded on a tight budget of a meagre $1000 over three feverishly creative days, but the discipline required has ensured the album is taut, powerful, focussed and potentially as intriguing an introduction as any of the above.
Dynamically, LOT are impressive from the word go. The opening 'Speak To Me Bones' is terse, tense and propulsive, with Powell's (relatively) poppy tunes given a heavy kick up the arse from the heaviosity of Tim K and Bucky Wheaton's rhythm section. The overall sound straddles both classic US power pop and darker alt-rock and certainly I can hear echoes of both Chan Marshall and Juliana Hatfield in Powell's cracked and seductive vocal delivery, though on tunes like the angular rumble of the excellent 'All My Friends' there's a distinct tinge of Kristin Hersh's wide-eyed dementia too. On this latter, Powell also unleashes this writer's favourite kiss-off line courtesy of "fuckin' around, pretendin' there's a problem - figure it out!" which is, of course, very sound advice indeed.
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Elsewhere - like on 'Summer Special' and the captivating 'Magnetic Hill' - a poppier sensibility holds sway. The staccato change-arounds on this latter are wonderful, while the somnolent, dark and claustrophobic atmosphere they create on the closing 'Street Wheels' proves how effective they can be when they paint some noir-ish tinges into the corners of their sound.
I say 'closing', but this new UK version of 'Applause...' features three newly-recorded songs in 'Young Bridge', '2 Ships' and 'Dark Nature Places'. These recordings involve the band's new rhythm section of bassist Chris McCarron and drummer Eric Thibodeauon and they are certainly every bit as up for the challenge of fleshing out Powell's enigmatic muse as the original incumbents were. Of these, 'Young Bridge' is arguably my favourite with a real Fort Apache edge about it, although the wired, chromatic '2 Ships' (is that an organ or cello I hear?) with its' eerie "it's creepy!" refrain runs it close and the closing 'Dark Nature Places' again impresses with its' rolling, ritualistic drumming and sideswiping guitars.
Bearing in mind the sonic excellence that seems to have been simply spewing out of Montreal over the past few years, it's hard to believe we're singing the praises of this expansive city yet again, yet the alt.pop class exuded by Land Of Talk really can't fail to set tongues wagging. And for once, the flames of rumour require fanning enthusiastically too.
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