I had my eyes firmly fixed on the album cover of Calgary’s Women’s debut: How would the music of a band who calls themselves Women sound like? Apart from having a band name that makes you want to stab yourself straight through the heart when googled, the four piece act Women, has put forth one of the most remarkable debuts of the year. After noticing the name Chad VanGaalen appear more than once through an involvement with the recording of the album, it only further signified that the band was worthy enough to be looked into. Their self-titled album take cues liberally from both the classic and contemporary, including the experimental and frenetic pace of Animal Collective, noise rockers Sonic Youth and the drug-induced drones of Velvet Underground. But tucked amongst the instrumental interludes and ambient noise pieces are some pretty incredible works of songwriting. Although the disc isn’t entirely filled with moody pop-pleasers such as ‘Black Rice’ and ‘Group Transport Hall’, these tracks are able to retain its strength through it’s warm, lo-fi surfaces so much so that you’re tricked into liking the record as a whole. So what if the band may seem indecisive and the lack of cohesion might invite a feeling of claustrophobia-- the record’s good like that.(right-click save as)
|mp3| Women - Black Rice (Highly Recommended)
And in case you’re still not sold:
|mp3| Women - Group Transport Hall
