Now this is what I’m talking about. SSRIs, the progressive synthpunk band from Vancouver, just changed their name to Spring, and decided to release a somewhat more subdued psychedelic folk/skronky hard rock album. If you’ve heard anything by SSRIs you’ll probably have a good idea of what this album’s going to sound like. The album starts off frantic and fast-paced, with periodic noisy breakdowns (“Secrets”), but they mellow out a little after the third track. “Loretta” is a vaguely Eastern-sounding three-part seven-minute long epic, and “Pastel” reverses the formula heard on “Secrets” and gets weird and noisy whenever either of their fairly androgynous sounding singers starts singing. Despite all the strangeness of this album, they can whip out some surprisingly pleasant-sounding harmonies for a band previously known for being obnoxious and shouty. They also have a penchant for math-rock guitar fills and a disregard for traditional song form, as heard on “In the Morning”. All in all, if you’re looking for something to massively boost your street cred as a person who knows what they’re talking about when it comes to good bands, listen to Spring.
Unfortunately, it isn’t quite as good as their last effort, Effeminate Godzilla-Sized Windchimes, but that’s probably more a result of me being a big fan of the bands SSRIs sound like rather than any slight against Spring. Check this out! (Independent, 5pring.com) Topher Duguay