Last updated: May 27, 2011 3:08 pm
Josh O’Kane — Canadian University Press
TORONTO (CUP) — “Bedroom club,” as a music genre, is a name that sounds equal parts nonsensical and completely pretentious. And it is entirely fitting for Miracle Fortress.
There’s been a mass proliferation, in the past year, of Canadian pop outfits whose music relies on little more than a synth, drum machine, guitar and Garage Band. The electronic sector of Canuck music has given us albums ranging from glam-pop (Diamond Rings’ Special Affections) to dream-pop (Young Galaxy’s Shapeshifting) in the past 12 or so months. For the most part, they’re pretty good. For the most part, Miracle Fortress is better.
Released in April, Was I the Wave? has both a confidence and a backbone that puts it above other albums in its playing field. And deservedly so — the band’s mastermind, Graham Van Pelt, already plays keys for acclaimed Montreal outfit Think About Life, and he’s already got a Polaris-shortlisted album under his belt (2007’s Five Roses).
The album sets itself apart from the moment the guitar kicks in on “Tracers,” the album’s second track. It’s not just another bedroom pop record with layered keys just because an artist can layer keys; there is a plan, a blueprint, behind it, that keeps you on your toes and legitimately interested.
Was I the Wave? has such Easter eggs littered through it — including the pounding electronic drums on “Raw Spectacle,” and the lovely bass synth on “Immanent Domain,” just to name a few. These aren’t used like gimmicks — again, this album is carefully planned, being four years in the making — but rather, garnishes to well-crafted pop songs.
When music is this layered, it’s hard to imagine how Was I the Wave? translates live. But playing in Toronto May 12, tucked away in a small Parkdale bar opening for Shad at a private party, Miracle Fortress held their own. Van Pelt had only one person accompany him, on drums; he handled the rest himself. And he did it well. Van Pelt’s hands danced from guitar to sampler, adding layer upon layer as he sang. There’s something lost in translation, obviously, when so much of the music is played once and looped, but the sheer number of layers and Van Pelt’s stage energy give the Miracle Fortress songs a full-band feeling.
Polaris Prize season is almost upon us, and Miracle Fortress, already a past shortlist nominee, will no doubt be a strong contender. Van Pelt’s project joins many other electronic pop albums in contention for the lusted-after music award. The fact that it’s different shows that Canadian music — or at least, independent Canadian bands with a little bit of weight behind them — is more than just indie-rock collectives. We’re seeing a lot of creative exploration within electronic pop, a genre that now stands as an umbrella for a gamut of different sounds. More and more of these bands are entering the collective Canadian conscience. That’s a good thing.
Miracle Fortress plays Toronto on June 9 and Ottawa on June 10.
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