Brasstronaut - Mount Chimaera
Brasstronaut, a Vancouver, BC, based sextet released their debut LP, Mount Chimaera on March 2nd. It's only natural that I catch up to it fashionably late, a few months later. However, let me say, that it is worth catching up to. This is, for all intents and purposes, one of the best albums I've heard this year. I put it up with Forgiveness Rock Record, Heaven is Whenever, et. al. And here's why:
Instrumental (ahaha, get it?) to the line up are Bryan Davies on trumpet and Sam Davidson that handles wind instrument duties (including sick ass synth-wind). However, the band avoids the usual pitfall that I've seen several times: "We have trumpets and wind instruments, our novelty alone propels us."
That's not to say that the band exists only as a vehicle for these classical instruments, either. This is truly inventive rock music, moved at times by lilting jazz grooves [e.g. "Hearts Trompet"] and others by thunderous punk beats and breakneck fills [e.g. "Lo Hi Hopes"]. This happens, mind you, while maintaining a firm grasp on their rock, jazz and pop roots and a spotless indie rock aesthetic.
That being said, personal favorite song on the album is a toss up between "Hearts Trompet" and "Hand Behind." The latter definitely has the jazz cool, but enough ennui and emotional discontent to keep it from being washy and plain. The lyrics, simply, directly crafted and delivered through a speaking voice are immediately enthralling:
Instrumental (ahaha, get it?) to the line up are Bryan Davies on trumpet and Sam Davidson that handles wind instrument duties (including sick ass synth-wind). However, the band avoids the usual pitfall that I've seen several times: "We have trumpets and wind instruments, our novelty alone propels us."
That's not to say that the band exists only as a vehicle for these classical instruments, either. This is truly inventive rock music, moved at times by lilting jazz grooves [e.g. "Hearts Trompet"] and others by thunderous punk beats and breakneck fills [e.g. "Lo Hi Hopes"]. This happens, mind you, while maintaining a firm grasp on their rock, jazz and pop roots and a spotless indie rock aesthetic.
That being said, personal favorite song on the album is a toss up between "Hearts Trompet" and "Hand Behind." The latter definitely has the jazz cool, but enough ennui and emotional discontent to keep it from being washy and plain. The lyrics, simply, directly crafted and delivered through a speaking voice are immediately enthralling:
"Hearts Trompet," as mentioned before, has that deep jazz groove that's immediately recognizable as something familiar and accessible. Then strings attend to the sparse vocals, punctuated by explosions of trumpet riffing (Does one riff a trumpet?). Suddenly, the piano joins and the trumpet's off on a lilting solo. The music is spot on, with everything you expect arranged in a way you didn't see coming."If this is what you wanted take it back/if this is what you wanted cut me slack/I count the things you did but I lost track/I count the things you took that I want back"
To conclude, I just have to say that Brasstronaut is 100% worth the listen. I don't even feel all that bad about catching on as late as I did (they had an EP come out in '08), I feel more lucky to have caught on at all. Without a doubt, their album is on heavy rotation on my iTunes/iPhone/CD and with a vinyl available on their website, as soon as my stereo is in working order, vinyl, too.
