Tag: alternative rock

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Music

Young Critters aim for a win at the Omnium du Rock contest

A portrait of Young Critters. From left to right, Nicolas Martel, Maiko Despeignes, Patrick Bureau and Shaun Pouliot. Photo by Antoine La Salle.

The alternative rock band will be performing their new EP at Matahari Loft

The Montreal-based band Young Critters may have only been together for a year, but they are one of the top five bands competing in the Omnium du Rock contest. The new alternative rock band blends elements of funk into their music—it’s a stylistic direction lead singer and guitarist Shaun Pouliot is glad the band is taking. “It’s getting more and more heavy, I like to think, but there’s still a funk aspect to it in terms of rhythm and groove,” he said.

The contest, which has been ongoing since September, is held in six different cities across Quebec, including Trois-Rivières, Quebec City, Sherbrooke, Gatineau, Chicoutimi and Montreal. The band managed to make it to the final round. “There were 121 bands, and we’re in the final round—so there are five bands left,” Pouliot said.

The winner of the contest will be revealed on April 29 at Café Campus. “We’re really looking forward to it,” Pouliot said, adding that they expect to be one of the softer rock bands of the evening. “I think [the other bands] are mainly heavier music than what we’re doing, like more metal-ish,” he said.

In addition to Pouliot, Young Critters’ lineup consists of Nicolas Martel on lead guitar and back-up vocals, Maïko Despeignes on bass guitar and Patrick Bureau on drums. The quartet will be launching their first EP titled Sedate Me on May 18 at the Matahari Loft in Montreal. Pouliot said what makes them stand out, especially in the competition, is that they all share a similar background in music. “We all studied music—I think that helped [us get to the finals],” he said. “We covered a lot of details maybe some bands didn’t work on as much, and we may have a little more experience than others.”

According to Pouliot, every band member brings something unique to the group. “Bureau is very methodical,” said Pouliot. “He’s a great drummer.“ He also said the bassist, Despeignes, leads the melodies in their songs, “I think Despeignes brings the groovy aspect as well as adding the right tone.”

Young Critters from left to right: Maïko Despeignes, Nicolas Martel, Shaun Pouliot and Patrick Bureau. Photo by Antoine La Salle.

Martel and Pouliot have known each other for more than five years—which is longer than the other members. “Martel is the most charismatic dude I’ve ever seen on the stage,” Pouliot said. “He’s crazy up on a stage, and he’s got some great ideas in terms of writing songs and melodies and doing something catchy and bluesy.”

Pouliot said he feels Martel is more instinctive than him when it comes to music. “Sometimes I over-analyze [the songs],” he said. “I think Martel brings me down to earth again. And I think it’s important to kind of listen to what you’re working on in a very innocent way.”

Pouliot said his ultimate goal when creating new music is to bring everything together in a cohesive way. “I write most of the material with Martel, so I write the lyrics for the music,” he said. Pouliot is also currently working on trying to make his guitar sound like a keyboard. He said it’s important for him to bring a different sound to the group, since two members of the band play guitar, one member plays bass and the other plays the drums. “I’m still working on it a lot,” he said. “[I use] certain effects like reverb and delay and stuff like that, but it’s still a work in progress.”

While the band takes its influence from a wide variety of genres, Pouliot said he enjoys dance music and takes much of his influence from that style. “I like the idea of having a certain dance appeal to rock and roll. That’s what we’re trying to achieve,” he said. “And if we could achieve that with rock, we would be really, really happy.”

According to Pouliot, the four songs and two bonus tracks on the band’s EP are all meaningful to him. For example, the single, “Sedate Me,” reflects his own personal experiences. “It’s kind of me addressing myself to music, back when I hurt my arm,” he said. “I wanted to play guitar very much, and I couldn’t wait until I got to play guitar and music again. So it’s kind of a weird concept, but that was what I was going for.”

The band members said they’re very excited to play in their hometown of Montreal. According to Pouliot, Montrealers should expect some surprises during their performance. “We like to change the songs a little. We like to arrange them a little from one show to another,” he said. “ We like to make things more exciting for everyone.”

Young Critters’ new EP Sedate Me can be heard at Matahari Loft on May 18, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Entrance is $10, and their EP can also be purchased on-site.

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Music

French experimental band: La Femme

La Femme from top left to right bottom: Sacha Got, Marlon Magnée, Sam Lefèvre, Clémence Quélennec, Lucas Nuñez Ritter, and Noé Delmas.

La Femme combines French yé-yé with a 60s California vibe of psychedelic rock

I will always remember the first time I heard La Femme—it made me see music from another perspective. At the time, I was on exchange in Westfield, N.J., when a local student named Andrew said, “Do you know ‘La Femme’? They are really good. Give them a listen.” The disturbing yet fascinating melody of “Antitaxi,” which incorporates taxi honks and bus brakes with psychedelic pop sounds, played in the background as we rode to his house. Less than an hour later, Psycho Tropical Berlin, La Femme’s debut album, was already part of my playlist.

From the numerous genres they experiment with, to the lyrical topics they dive into, or from the cold-yet-sincere and eye-opening atmosphere they create musically, to their clothing style—ranging from three-piece tuxedos, to Sex Pistols torn jeans and leather jackets—La Femme is one of a kind. The group describes their music as limitless and without a specific style or distinct voice. Aside from their full-time lead female singer, the band features the singing voices of different women on many songs—according to their online biography. It’s a singularity that rapidly got me hooked.

La Femme is a sextet initially created by high school friends Marlon Magnée and Sacha Got in France’s Basque region—Europe’s surf capital. Magnée, who is on vocals and plays the synthesizer, moved to Paris, followed by Got. Back in 2010, La Femme began their journey in Paris, where they met the other bandmates: Noé Delmas, the drummer; Sam Lefèvre, the bassist; Lucas Nuñez Ritter, who plays the synth; and Clémence Quélennec, a vocalist.

La Femme’s genre may be undefinable, but elements of different styles are recurrent between La Femme’s Psycho Tropical Berlin and Mystère, their second and newest album. The group’s influences stem from California’s surf music and the 60s French yé-yé style, which reinterprets English songs in French. From one album to the next, the band has deepened their psychedelic and post-punk tones, evolving and adding to their style.

Over the past 15 years, French radio stations have been marked by a great amount of foreign music, mostly from the U.S. There were few French pop-rock bands that rose and stood out between the dominant French variety—which consists of songs with French-driven lyrics and poetic structure, or French rap. Yet, La Femme, with their distinct sounds, have stepped up in France, overseas and even have a  presence in the U.S.

Their popularity has also risen due to the topics they write about, such as suicide, gender neutrality, psychedelic drugs, women, depression and the sometimes ugly realities of life. Their songs, written as short narratives, carry listeners through the life of a protagonist, usually a woman, making the listeners feel their despair or joy in raising awareness about social causes.

Album cover for Mystère, La Femme’s second album.

Here is a list of some of my personal favourite songs:

“Tueurs de fleurs” from Mystère

In “Tueurs de fleurs,” which translates to flower killers, La Femme touches on the sensitive subject of conjugal violence directed towards women, using the metaphor of women as flowers being poorly looked after or mistreated by their “owners.” In the end, the flowers grow strong in the dark and become carnivorous plants taking their revenge on their abusers.

“From Tchernobyl with love” from Psycho Tropical Berlin

In the form of a letter sent by a liquidator at the Chernobyl power plant to his family somewhere in past USSR, La Femme puts emphasis on the people directly exposed to the nuclear waste in the aftermath of the explosion. In the letter, the man, who tries to stay positive, describes his daily life as “a mission: destroy everything,” before saying the gamma rays are more important than his own flesh. The band uses a vintage synthesized voice resembling radio voices of the time, perfectly transporting the listener to that era.

“Si un jour” from Psycho Tropical Berlin

This song aims to break gender labels using the story of a woman living in France during the 50s and 60s. The protagonist enumerates simple fantasies, like smoking all day, wearing trousers, spitting or walking and whistling, which shape her gender-neutral identity. Yet, she is faced with people telling her to go back to sewing, to not play with the ball meant for boys and demanding she put her skirt back on. In the end, she trades in her Moulinex—a 60s kitchen utensil with the slogan “freeing the woman”—for a leather jacket and a Harley Davidson. Now she is ready to beat up anybody who criticizes her choices.

Special mentions

A special mention should go to “Mycose,” from Mystère, which explores the delicate subject of vaginal mycosis, commonly referred to as a vaginal yeast infection. In the song it affects a woman who wishes nothing but for it to go away. She departs from Earth to another planet in hope of the mycosis to go away. “Le Blues de Françoise,” from Psycho Tropical Berlin, touches the depression that can occur after a break-up. Finally, “Sphynx,” from Mystère, aims to spread the message that differences should not divide us. It uses the image of taking acid as a means to unify everybody under one universe during an mind-opening experience. La Femme will remain a mystery, and their music will keep on carrying me and other listeners to the rhythm of their uniqueness.

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Music

Meet The Feedbackers

Concordia music students are jamming their way to success

The life of a music artist may not be easy, but Concordia’s music program makes this process a lot smoother. At least that is the case for The Feedbackers, a Montreal alternative rock band founded in 2013.

The group consists of Mike Gerbasi, the lead singer and guitar player; George Flores, the bassist, keyboard player and vocalist; Chris Renaud, the drummer and percussion-player; and Antoine Bensoussan, the guitarist and vocalist, who joined the group in February this year.

Bensoussan joined the group after meeting Flores at Concordia, where they were both studying in the music program. Bensoussan told Flores he really wanted to be in a rock group. Flores, Gerbasi and Renaud were already performing together as The Feedbackers at the time. Gerbasi had been looking for another guitar player for a while. “So I’m just piecing the pieces of the puzzle together, there is a very talented guitar player that wants to play in a rock band, and here’s this band that needs another guitar player, so might as well merge them,” said Flores.

That’s when it went from the terrific trio to the fantastic foursome. Bensoussan fit in with the rock trio like a glove, and they continued creating music from there. “It’s as if he was part of the band for the past five years. We didn’t really know what we needed until [Bensoussan] came in and showed us what we were missing,’” said Renaud.

Photo by Carolina Aguirre.

Flores said Concordia gave them the opportunity to meet and work with a multitude of talented musicians. “It’s definitely one of the best decisions I’ve taken in my life to study here,” he said. “You meet so many people—the music department has such a fantastic environment. People are very welcoming, very friendly and there’s always this need to collaborate and create together. So it’s very communal.”According to Gerbasi, the University gave them opportunities to showcase their talents on stage during local shows. “The reason we had all the gigs we did for the most part is, when Concordia organized events, they asked us to play because we had a good standing with them. Or there were these things going on at a bar that the [music department] had a hand in,” said Gerbasi. An example is when The Feedbackers got a gig at the Corina Club lounge, where they performed again the year after. They also performed at the Concordia Shuffle for two consecutive years.

While they’ve come a long way musically in the past three years, the band said that the music department of Concordia definitely gave them the jump-start they needed. The band not only made changes to their sound, which has gone from pop to alternative rock, but has also changed their female lead singer to a male lead singer, Gerbasi. “[We’re] specifically making our own music original, in the way that we like and enjoy listening and playing it as musicians and as lovers of music,” said Gerbasi.

Their new self-titled EP will be released on Dec. 3. According to Renaud, all three songs on the EP define the band really well. “It’s really to show the progression of our band up to this point, and where we’ve come,” he said. According to Gerbasi, the third song on the EP, “Unholy Ghost,” brought the band closer to finding their sound. “If songs could move mountains, that’s what “Unholy Ghost” would sound like,” said Gerbasi.

Photo by Carolina Aguirre.

Gerbasi said the themes on the EP are about letting life happen, opening your eyes to the world and being willing to grow. “Not letting yourself be carried out by life but actually pushing through it,” he said. “Not being the leaf on top of the river, but being a particle of water in the river pushing through with everything else.” This is something the lead singer said he’s learned a lot over the past year. “I like to see things in order but, when there’s disorder, I let it go. I’m working on letting things go and letting opportunity take its course and letting things happen,” he said.

The group’s main goal is to influence people through their music, according to Renaud. “We would love our music to be that influence on people. If you’re stressed, you take out your iPod and you listen to The Feedbackers. That’s the ultimate goal—we want to influence people’s lives,” said Renaud. Bensoussan wants their music to push people to become the best version of themselves. “Basically, inspire them to live at their own full potential the way we live as artists at our full potential, as our full expressiveness,” said Bensoussan. “We want to inspire people to do that for themselves, and to push their limits and to get out of their comfort zones.”

The Feedbackers will be at Piranha Bar on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 8 p.m. for their EP launch.

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Music

The next wave of Canadian alternative rock

A guide to the country’s recent chart-topping alternative rock bands

Canada has always been a breeding ground for great alternative rock groups. Pioneers such as the Tragically Hip paved the way for countless other groups to become successful. Recently, new Canadian talents have been emerging at an astonishing rate—their down-to-earth, authentic and deeply personal takes on the genre are turning heads, not just around the country, but around the world.

July Talk

July Talk is arguably the most exciting Canadian band around right now. They’ve played shows alongside Canadian rock icons such as Billy Talent, Sam Roberts and Matthew Good Band. They also won Breakthrough Group of the Year at the 2014 Junos. The group dropped their much anticipated follow-up album, Touch, which cemented them as the band to watch in Canadian music. Their latest release, Touch, focuses on themes of loneliness and lust. One particular reason for their success is chemistry. Lead singers Leah Fay and Peter Dreimanis—both from Toronto—have this electric energy between them. Every song feels like a battle for control. Through all of this emerges a sound that can only be described as captivating—each track is an explosion. Songs like the lead single, “Push + Pull,” only further serve to ingrain July Talk’s rapidly growing reputation as a mainstay in the Canadian rock scene.

Recommended album: Touch

 

The Dudes

There is no other band that recreates that Western Canadian sound like the Dudes, a rock group from Calgary that’s been around since the late 90s. With each subsequent album, the band explores and digs further into their Canadian roots for inspiration—through catchy hooks and laid back storytelling. Tracks like “Saturday Night” showcase what it means to be a Canadian hockey fan, while incorporating heavy guitar riffs and pumping drums that have become signature components of the band. Their albums embody the feeling of a drunk night in Banff, spending hours telling stories with friends around a campfire. The Dudes accompany their pop-rock sound with an ability to make some of the corniest lines sound cool, such as “And I think she’s right for someone else, let me introduce myself, I’m someone else, Mr. Someone Else.” They’ve become a staple in the Canadian rock conversation—the band brings an air of consequence-free fun that is sorely missed in music these days.

Recommended album: Blood Guts Bruises Cuts

Coleman Hell

Alternative rock singer Coleman Hell blasted onto the musical scene in 2015 with the song “2 Heads,” a track that went triple platinum in Canada, which comes from his debut album, Summerland. The album is inspired by the Wiccan belief of a purgatory between lives. Hell’s distinct, deep voice is accompanied by electronic beats. The intense electronic sounds and light, poppy banjo riffs come together in Hell’s Summerland album. Playing off this theme of purgatory, death and rebirth, the album delivers some of the best songs of the year. “Howling Moon,” “Devotion” and the title track, “Summerland,” all bring out the best in Canadian folklore. He doesn’t play it safe—he experiments with different sounds to bring a unique spin to the alternative genre. He manages to keep this light, catchy and triumphant album grounded. Even though it’s very possible Hell might become one of the biggest names to come out of the Canadian alternative scene, it seems like he’ll never lose sight of his Canadian background that inspires him.

Recommended album: Summerland

Dan Mangan

Since releasing his debut album, Postcards and Daydreaming, back in 2005, Dan Mangan has been steadily growing his reputation as one of the most consistent and talented Canadian songwriters in recent memory. The singer is based out of Vancouver, B.C. and frequently collaborates with other Vancouver artists, including Kenton Loewen, a former member of Mother Mother. Mangan’s sound has been compared to that of Bon Iver. He takes a softer, more subdued approach to the alternative genre. He has always been an artist who appeals to Canadian audiences because of his storytelling ability. His album Oh Fortune won the Best Alternative Album in 2012 at the Juno Awards. Recently, Mangan has shifted from his usual acoustic guitar-driven sound to fuller, darker, band-orientated projects. His latest record, Unmake, is full of that same ability to tell deeply personal stories, but Mangan’s stripped-back guitar and heavier production makes the overall tone bleaker in comparison to his earlier work, which was closer to the folk-pop genre. His impeccable production has become a trademark throughout his past albums. Mangan’s evolution is a story, heard from album to album.

Recommended album: Unmake (EP)

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Music Quickspins

Bayside – Vacancy

Bayside – Vacancy (Hopeless, 2016)

The alternative punk band Bayside released their new album, Vacancy, and I couldn’t be happier with it! The lyrical content of their tracks, including “I’ve Been Dead All Day” and “Two Letters” are the highlights of the album. Although they can be dark and gloomy, these tunes tell a story. The lyrics are like poems from a personal journal, a peek inside Bayside’s inner thoughts. Anthony speaks of his emotions and personal circumstances such as getting over a heartbreak. The punk-emo riffs and intense energy of the album are altogether amazing. Vacancy greatly delivered in terms of originality, creativity and awesomeness.

Trial Track: Two Letters

7/10

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Music

It Takes Time… to get along

Intensive Care have been creeping around the Montreal music scene for quite some time. After releasing their first studio album Fairytales from the Island in 2009, under the production of Jace Lasek of fellow Montreal band The Besnard Lakes, they have been touring extensively and working on new material for their next album.
The group’s diversity is something of a hook, as its members hail from Lebanon, Canada and the United States. It’s a mélange that has shaped their upcoming EP It Takes Time, which will be released during their next gig at Casa Del Popolo on March 22.
The band says their new material was inspired by “endless debates about the state of contemporary society and the way eastern and western cultures interact,” an issue that each band member has struggled to overcome, both within the band, and through their assimilation into Montreal society.
“With It Takes Time and the LP to follow, we wanted to challenge the way society perceives modernity in a time when life is becoming unnaturally comfortable,” said lead singer, Philippe Manasseh, nervously smiling as he handles his shiny new iPhone.
Each member of Intensive Care brings a certain eclecticism to their craft. Lead guitarist, Nadim Maghzal is currently completing a PhD in cell and molecular biology and drummer Evan Tighe completed a bachelor’s degree at Concordia University in jazz studies.
“We often find each other at a loss for words when it comes to expressing ourselves and resolving conflicts, and often we misinterpret each other,” admits Manasseh.
Such a melting pot could cause tension, but instead, the boys of Intensive Care use it as a strength.
“When we play, all that goes away, and we just switch to a whole other mode of discussion,” he said.
But the band admits that the key to their success is compromise.
“Having to make sacrifices all the time is truly stimulating,” said Manasseh. “We believe strongly in making music that we like as a group and we all just happen to enjoy more complex pop music.”
Musically, their influences converge around indie rock bands like Wolf Parade, Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear, but Manasseh sees the group as independent and distinct.
“I truly think that our influences come mostly from non-musical art forms, such as movies, literature, comics and science,” he said. These outside influences played a crucial role in inspiring the writing process for all of their material, past and present.
“[The band] recorded the album in a manner that was as close to our live sound as possible,” explained Manasseh. “We used our own equipment, sang on a standard live microphone, and tried not to layer the songs to the point that we couldn’t perform them live.”

Check out Intensive Care at Casa Del Popolo on Thursday, March 22 at 8:30 p.m. for the release party of their new EP It Takes Time featuring guests The Golden Isles and Technical Kidman.

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Music

Mixtape: Post-reading week rhapsody

The first days back to school after any sort of break are always an interesting time. From getting back into getting up at a respectable hour, to reacquainting yourself with that girl who is always correcting the professor under her breath (you know who you are), it can be a trying time. Not to mention the fact that with mid-terms now behind you, it’s pretty much full on exam time when you get back from reading week.
While one could get into hard drug use or religion to cope, there are better, and arguably healthier methods. Since the dawn of rock and roll in the late 1940s and early 1950s, there have been countless songs composed on the subject of school: getting back to school, fraternity life  and hot-rod dissertations. This mixtape pretty much covers all aspects of the school experience. Enjoy.

SIDE A: Hot for teacher
1. “Hot Rod Dissertation” – The Royal Pendletons – Oh Yeah, Baby
2. “No Class” – Motörhead – Overkill
3. “Fraternity, U.S.A.” – The Lady Bugs – Fraternity, U.S.A.
4. “School’s Out” – The Spits – The Spits IV (School’s Out)
5. “Be True to Your School” – The Beach Boys – Little Deuce Coupe
6. “Schools are Prisons” – The Ex Pistols – Deny
7. “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl” – The Yardbirds – For Your Love
8. “Barbara” – The Modernettes – Teen City E.P.
9. “School Jerks” – The Veins – School Jerks
10. “Low Grades and High Fever” – Linda Laine & The Sinners – Freddie and the Dreamers and Other Great English Stars

SIDE B: Be cool, stay in school
11. “Scholastic Aptitude” – The Urinals – Negative Capability
12. “Charlie Brown” – The Coasters – Charlie Brown
13. “High School Yum Yum” – The Donnas – The Donnas
14. “School Days” – The Runaways – Waitin’ for the Night
15. “Hot Rod High” – The Hondells – Go Little Honda
16. “High School Nervous Breakdown” – Forgotten Rebels – Boys Will be Boys
17. “Die Schule ist Aus” – Die Sweetles – Die Schule ist Aus
18. “High School Confidential” – Hasil Adkins – Out to Hunch
19. “Teach Your Children” – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Déjà Vu
20. “Rock and Roll High School” – The Ramones – End of the Century

Listen to this week’s mixtape here on 8tracks.com

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Music

Quickspins + Retroview

Band of Skulls – Sweet Sour (Electric Blues Records; 2012)

Sweet Sour is the second studio album from British trio Band of Skulls. Their sophomore effort brings back the gritty guitar riffs and smooth vocal harmonies that put Baby Darling Doll Face Honey on the alt-rock map, but fails to fully live up to the debut’s promise. The first half of Sweet Sour groups together all the heavy songs, which results in a feeling of “where did the album go?” as the second half closes with one meandering, slow number after another. As a whole, the album lacks expected creativity and plays on the safe side of the music industry, seemingly vying for a single on MTV and a radio hit.  But its shortcomings don’t mean that it isn’t an enjoyable album. Stomp rock track “The Devil Takes Care of His Own” easily steals the spotlight as the best showcase of Russell Marsden’s catchy, dirty guitar riffing. It just never finds the breakthrough originality it needs.

Rating: 7.0/10

Trial track: “Wanderluster”

– Lindsay Rempel

Young Liars – Homesick Future (Self-released; 2012)

Electro-indie group Young Liars will have you bobbing your head and swaying your hips along to their rhythmic tracks from their latest EP Homesick Future. The Vancouver-based band released their first EP in early 2011 and have plans to make their full-length album debut sometime in 2012, but have released both EPs to tide listeners over until then.
All seven songs on Homesick Future have lengthy instrumentals that encompass you in the music. In contrast to the verses, the choruses have simple, repetitive lyrics, allowing the listener to pick them up in no time.
Unfortunately, at times the music seems to overpower the vocals, creating a cacophony of sound that breaks the melodic flow. The songs on Homesick Future are catchy but easily forgotten, with the exception of the song “Colours” where the electronica background music, guitar riffs and fresh vocals mesh together perfectly.
Overall, Homesick Future is good without being great.

Rating: 6.8/10

Trial track: “Colours”

– Natasha Taggart

Tennis – Young & Old (Fat Possum; 2012)

A little over a year after disembarking from Cape Dory, husband-and-wife duo Tennis are landlocked and ready to release their sophomore album, Young & Old.
Teaming up with The Black Keys’ drummer Patrick Carney to oversee the production, the album reveals an obvious divergence from Tennis’ previous songwriting with a more polished sound. A welcomed addition, Carney seems to lend a much needed structure to the songs. He is likely also responsible for a tinge of sass in lead vocalist Alaina Moore’s crooning vocals, especially demonstrated in R&B-inspired “My Better Self” and “Petition.” Despite the occasional quirk, the 10 tracks follow the same brisk-paced urgency, rendering the album monotonous.
My main concern with Tennis is that they don’t seem to be able to find their voice. Remaining true to their kitschy sea-shanty act would become tiresome, but too big a change in any direction would cause fans to question their sincerity.

Rating: 6.0/10

Trail track: “My Better Self”

– Paul Traunero

The Grateful Dead – American Beauty (Warner Bros. Records; 1970)

There aren’t too many people who can say they’ve mastered composing, poetry, songwriting, piano, banjo, guitar, pedal steel guitar, painting and drawing, all while missing a key digit from their right hand, but The Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia did, and American Beauty exemplifies his prowess. The classic jam band’s fifth studio album further cemented the Dead as one of America’s great, iconic jam bands with timeless hits like “Ripple,” “Box of Rain,” “Truckin’” and “Sugar Magnolia.” Building upon the country and folk styles of their previous albums, American Beauty epitomizes easy listening and pure audio delight. The album takes you on a voyage through 1960s America. All of the usual suspects are there: freedom, love, music, travel, luck, and of course, drugs. Anyone who hasn’t heard this album multiple times from beginning to end is doing a disservice to themselves, and possibly even the world.
So, go make yourself a headband out of daisies, put on your tie-dye, and let this album move you in ways you never knew possible.

Trial track: “Till the Morning Comes”

– Allie Mason

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