by Mykhailo Vil’yamson
Even though one might see the We, Here and Now! record label and mistakenly assume that Orelands must be made up of Shakespearean bards from the Stratford Festival in Ontario, the band itself emerged from the hard rock, zinc-laden mining town of Flin Flon. Though only one member of this three-piece actually lives there – i.e., the drummer, Dean Martin – both Jay Hovland (songwriter, guitarist, vocalist) and Scott Ellenberger (bassist) also have roots in Flintabbatey Flonatin.
Their late December 2024 release Secrets and Select Missions could be best described as Dreamo Psych Rock, with its highly textured, multi-layered, repeating patterns of instrumentation, as well as the consistently unpredictable manifoldly-voiced poetic turns of phrase. The lyrics are cryptic yet familiar, necessitating re-listening in order to muse about what’s being said. Each song is relatively slow, steady and pensive; at times folk rock-ish, and other times spacey. From the shortest song (“All Seasons” at 2:26) to the longest one (“Means/End” at 5:19), the album feels like a record spinning: there’s a cyclical rhythm to things. And speaking of physical copies, it’s currently available on cassette (unless the short run of 30 is gone by the time these words are being read).
Amusing aside: on the label’s Bandcamp site, the digital album – presumably to encourage purchases of tapes, or to have a laugh (or both) – is listed as $999 CAD! But not to worry: the reader will be able to get these nine songs for a mere nine dollars directly from Orelands’ own Bandcamp page (and likely from We, Here and Now! once the limited edition “Under a Prairie Sky” cassettes are sold out).
While “Means/End” reminds me to a certain extent of the Danish band Mew and “Countdown” is slightly reminiscent of Beck’s more indie folk songs, most of their sound is uniquely theirs and hard to describe by comparison. My suggestion: if you need a break sometime this week to zone out — as I’m sure you do — grab your noise-cancelling headphones, pour yourself a drink, find a comfortable chair, and settle in as Orelands transports you somewhere else for half an hour (or longer, if/when you choose to play it through start-to-finish for a second or third time).
Ah shucks! Thanks for the kind words. Rest easy, no Bards were harmed in the making of this cassette!
This is one that I return to fairly often, likely down to the ear worm hooks and melodies the lads have conjured within these spools.
Look forward to hearing more from them !