The new album from this Montreal four-piece opens with one held key and a similarly gentle note plays over the drone-y last three minutes of the album. This brief inhale and long exhale are fitting considering the heady, dense block of tracks that average at six minutes a piece.
While previous album The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night played with the dynamics between spacious ambience and storming rockers, Until In Excess, Imperceptible UFO confines itself to a grinding, hypnotic mid-tempo pace for most of the album’s length. What keeps it from feeling stifled by the murky music is the distinctive dual vocals, with husband-and-wife duo Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas splitting the bill as lead vocalists. Goreas again seems to nab the best songs (People Of The Sticks, Catalina) while Lasek’s gorgeous falsetto elevates The Spectre, though the real magic happens when they sing together.
There are a slew of collaborators this time around, ranging from Moonface’s Spencer Krug to The Barr Brothers’ Sarah Page, but they are virtually undetectable within the mix. It’s clear that this band have cemented their own intoxicating sound, creating atmospheric songs that are epic without ever being overblown, as well as translating awesomely in a live setting. Lovers of their last two recordings will find Until In Excess, Imperceptible UFO well on track with their past work, but this one definitely claims the prize for their most ridiculous album title.
BY CHRIS GIRDLER
Best Track: People Of The Sticks
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: The New Ancients PEOPLE FOR AUDIO, Pygmalion SLOWDIVE
In A Word: Spaced-out
