ALBUM REVIEWS: Black Country, New Road Are Unstoppable On Sophomore Effort, Alongside Hippo Campus, Wild Rivers & Jean Michel Blais

It was a crowded Friday of stellar new releases (what else is new), but I’ve slimmed down some of the week’s best for the latest album review round-up video. Featuring Minnesota’s indie rock favourites Hippo Campus, to critically-acclaimed youngsters Black Country, New Road, and of course, two Canadian releases with folk-pop trio Wild Rivers and celebrated pianist Jean Michel Blais, this week is one for the books.

Watch the clip on YouTube below, and read through the transcript just past. Don’t forget to subscribe to the channel to stay up to date on new releases.

Hippo Campus – LP3

Minnesota indie rock act Hippo Campus are one of those bands that have continuously managed to stay just below the threshold of mainstream. They may not be quite the household name to the likes of Vampire Weekend or Phoenix, but they have certainly proved themselves worthy of comparison on their aptly named third album LP3.

They’ve continued to grow their sound and evolve alongside their fan base to bring their catchy indie hooks to new levels. Some of the band’s best riffs and melodies of their discography can be found on this record. While there’s still a youthful quality to their sound and songwriting, the majority of the record feels like a matured and deliberate offering. This is a band that knows themselves well enough that experimenting feels almost effortless and controlled, with a ray of confidence that comes through on this no-skip release.

Good job, lads. I’m giving this one a solid 8/10.

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Wild Rivers – Sidelines

Navigating your 20’s is never an easy thing, and Toronto-based indie folk pop trio Wild Rivers have bottled it all up into their wonderful sophomore album Sidelines. There’s a lot to reflect on, dance to, and love on this new record. It’s filled with infectious melodies and dynamic energy, courtesy of mix-match vocal duties and charming folk-pop spirit that leads its way through different indie pop genres.

Wild Rivers avoid coming across as disingenuous or generic, letting their sense of humour and personality shine through to give this a more down-to-earth and personable feel. While the group have found viral success courtesy of a loyal fanbase, they’ve managed to hold onto this very relatable style that feels like you’re conversing with a friend over life – except they just happen to be singing back at you – beautifully, I might add.

There’s a lot of great things about this band, and I feel like there is plenty more to come. I’m going to give Sidelines a solid 7.5 out of 10.

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Black Country, New Road – Ants From Up There

It’s been a long time since a band has received such universal acclaim, and UK art-rock collective Black Country, New Road managed to accomplish that with their 2021 debut album For the first time. Almost a full year to the date, the band have done it once more with their second full-length Ants From Up There.

Their style flows between indie rock, post-rock, spoken word, classical, and avant–garde, creating something that is uniquely there’s – a stellar accomplishment considering they haven’t been around that long.

Spanning over an hour, the 10-track collection is a cerebral and attention-demanding release that is packed full of layers both sonically and lyrically – something that is somewhat expected for such a large number of contributors. Half of the songs are no less than 6 minutes, including a 12 minute finale to tie the whole record together.

But just because a song is long, doesn’t mean it’s good, and Black Country New Road make sure to make every second count on this new album. There’s something absolutely transfixing about vocalist Isaac Woods’ deep croon; it weaves between spoken word and bass-y ballad. (Side note: he recently announced his departure from the band moving forward).

The chaotic full band sound, which includes sax, violin – and I feel like someone would be lying to me if there isn’t a clarinet in there as well on some tracks – matches his dramatic and feverish style.

This is such a wonderful listening experience and I really enjoy the unique style they’ve shaped for themselves over these two years. I still am so wildly impressed they’ve done so much great work in such a short amount of time. I hesitate to ever give an album a perfect score, but this damn near accomplishes it. So to round up, I’ll give this a 10.

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Jean Michel Blais – aubades

Adding a little variety to the mix this week, I have Montreal-born post-classical pianist Jean Michel Blais’ new album aubades. It’s a milestone release for the artist, since this also happens to be the first time he is releasing music as a composer, having arranged the pieces for a 12 person ensemble.

With his previous work being inspired by philosophy, minimalist electronic music, and improvisation, aubade captures a similar point of reference, this time elevating it to encompass a somewhat cathartic approach. Written during the lockdown and following a difficult break-up, aubade references the Middle Ages morning love song about lovers separating at daybreak. There are plenty of motifs on the album that point to playful romance and passion.

Painting narratives through the album’s progression and his composition style, Blais merges together the world of film score and neo-classical for a very expressive and engaging performance. This could easily fit as a soundtrack to a period piece indie film, or be a night lost in the music at a concert hall.

It’s easy to draw a comparison to the likes of Phillip Glass and Claude Debussy with the heavy focus on arpeggios that dip through unexpected progressions. And the recording process brought out a lot of the natural sounds of the instruments; it feels like you are sitting across from the musicians, and can see the music flowing out of them.

Aubades is truly a body of work that reaches into your soul and adds colour and life through this playful story of discovery, heartbreak, and finding comfort in the world again.

And like I’ve previously mentioned, I don’t believe in perfect scores, but I’m going to round this up to a 10.

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