Amy reviews Canary’s debut album Dear Universe
Album: Dear Universe (Debut)
Released: November 2011
My Rating: 5/5
I love accidentally discovering new bands that straight away blow your mind and find a place in your heart. Canary is that band….and one band that I’d love to support and see do really well. They are incredibly unique, and write the kind of music that makes you excited, but also a little jealous…jealous that you didn’t write it, cos you know it’s going to be freakin’ huge!
Canary hail from Melbourne and bring together an unorthodox bunch of musicians who draw on a colourful spectrum of musical influences. Canary’s music is rich, imaginative and unabashedly emotive. Vibrant trumpet lines, dexterous beat-boxing, lyrical bass riffs, brash guitars and poetic lyrics provide us with a palette of sounds and styles that will blow your mind.
The musical mastery in this album is something you might expect from a band that’s been together for years and released numerous albums. But…this is their first….an amazing and extraordinary feat. Their music is crafted with the thoughtfulness, precision and skill akin to the way a highly trained and experienced painter might piece together a colorful masterpiece, labouring over every brushstroke until it reaches perfection.
Canary spent the good part of 2010 recording at various spare rooms across Melbourne and Geelong, and a barn in Nagambie. Mixed by talented bassist and sound engineer Isaac Barter, the album has a rich sound, with many tracks featuring lush string arrangements and vocal harmonies, and incorporating many “left-of-centre” instruments, and synths.
Dear Universe brings together competing themes of self-denial and self-affirmation with each track displaying its own personality. An extremely self-aware and inventive album, the result being a collection of diverse songs that speak to every emotion you have…and listening to this album makes you feel a bit smug for having discovered them first!
You can listen to their entire album on their website.
Written by Amy Bastow for the Kiss My Arts show on Joy 94.9, with reference to information in the official Canary band bio. All views mine. 2012.