by Daniel Kussy
I’ll remember Living Hour’s performance at the Winnipeg Art Gallery at the tail end of last year for two reasons: those spinning chairs the audience was seated in and the sonic expansion within the band’s sound across a collection of new songs that dug into my brain. With the release of Someday is Today, the Winnipeg indie darlings’ third LP is their most diverse release yet. My brain rests easy knowing the songs recorded sound just as good as they did in the Muriel Richardson Auditorium.
Someday is Today’s sense of nostalgia is intertwined within the tracks as if they sought to manifest the energy invested in their self-titled LP with this matured and road-seasoned lineup. The pounding chorus of “Middle Name,” paired with the explosive intro to “Feelings Meeting,” make for an eye-opening pivot back towards the band’s shoegaze roots, except diving off into the deep end with nods to MBV. Slow burner “Curve,” penned and sung by Adam Soloway, is vulnerable and reflective in its captivating lyrics (Let it multiply/the guilt I feel/is it real?). The satisfaction and warmth that the listener experiences in Gil Carroll’s “Exploding Rain” really highlights the growth of a band, once awash in reverb and fuzz that can emerge stripped of the safety of such layers with such confidence. Such instances of brilliance shine through the instrumentation on “Hump” while Sam Sarty showcases her vocal range.
For Living Hour to open the creative floodgate and remove themselves from the safety net that their dreamy sound has allowed them in the past was a bold move, and it allowed them to create the album they’ve always wanted to make.
For fans of: DIIV, Jay Som, Guided by Voices