Woodpigeon – Treasury Library Canada
Treasury Library Canada - Out 9 February 2009
It’s so wonderful to be surprised by a band. In this case it is Canada’s Woodpigeon.
I’d heard the name Woodpigeon before, and knew the band was associated with End of the Road (the festival as well as the label), and knew which of my friends were a fan of them. Given that those friends like a lot of the same music as I do – mostly pretty, soaring Americana and love-lorn singer-songwriters – it was definitely me who was at fault for ignoring their advice to check out Woodpigeon.
Anyway, time went on and the opportunity arose for me to do just that, and I’m absolutely thrilled I did. In new album ‘Treasury Library Canada‘ (a follow-up to 2006′s Songbook), they’ve created such a warm, beautiful collection of songs in which you can just get lost. The subtle melodies and vocal harmonies will have you humming along unconsciously, and leader Mark Hamilton’s soft, ethereal voice – reminiscent of the likes of Sufjan Stevens, Elliott Smith, Bernard Fanning’s solo work and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon – is so wonderfully calming. At once delicate and subtle, he has you hanging on every word of his sweet stories of life, travel and love.
Buoying the airy, beautiful vocals is an 8-piece band playing a variety of instruments including violins, horns and xylophones, along with the more traditional guitars, piano and drums. The result is a deliciously-layered cake of sounds perfectly blended, begging to be enjoyed. Highlights include the soaring Anna, Girl in the Clocktower, which rises into a gorgeous cacophony of noise before being neatly, quietly finished off, and the beautiful, moving 7th Fret Over Andres which begins with the lines “If I were an aeroplane/And all you had left was pocket change/well, I would fly the whole wide world for you/like a bird takes to the sky of blue.” This track is a great example of the sentimental yet fantastical lyrics that Hamilton uses to great effect to help you drift off for a few minutes at a time, following him at every turn as he tries to work out where ‘home’ is.
With many of the songs starting off simply and delicately, before ascending into solid walls of sound from the various instruments at the band’s disposal, I get the impression that seeing Woodpigeon live would be an unmissable affair, akin to Okkervil River’s barnstorming live show.
Stay tuned to PULP for more from Woodpigeon in the coming weeks, and do try to check them out when they tour the UK in February. They play the Deaf Institute in Manchester on 24th February. Details here.
Paul Capewell
http://www.myspace.com/woodpigeon
Watch the video for A Moment’s Peace For Mary Christa O’Keefe below:
