reviewed by Chris Matei
When people talk about the Canadian music scene, Manitoba might not come up as often as some other provinces located to the more extreme west or east of the country. However, Michael P. Falk is aiming to change that with his work as owner of Head in the Sand, a label/recording collective that features such talents as Royal Canoe, Rococode, and his own bandmates in the dynamic indie rock quartet Les Jupes.
Les Jupes have travelled a long and challenging road leading up to the creation of their newest LP Some Kind of Family, a record which has been described by the band as a “rebirth.” The album took well over a year to complete, with quite some time elapsing between songwriting and recording. The latter process was a task for which they enlisted some serious talent in producer Marcus Paquin (whose credits include The National) and mix engineer Tony Hoffer (likewise Beck and M83.)
The band displays finely crafted and diverse songwriting and arranging abilities that shape and reshape the strengths of a few core elements. First and foremost of these is Falk’s resonant baritone, which seems equally comfortable in hushed introspection or a full-on rallying cry. Propulsive, energetic indie rock tracks like album opener “When They Dig Us Up” or the rushing, synth-powered “Everything Will Change” segue smoothly into billowing, vulnerable ballads like “The Brothers” and “You’re Burning Up” and back again across Some Kind of Family. Les Jupes demonstrate a particular knack for kicking things into another gear in their choruses – especially on the aforementioned rockier cuts, but also in the sinister shift that twists “One Is Enough” into something with an icy, glamorous menace or the keyboard-driven rocket launch that blows right through the middle of “On Miracles.”
There’s a continuous tension here between profound melodic movements and simple underlying chords, emotive vocals and grounding instrumentation, bursts of electronic exuberance and moments of quiet. Only “I Want Answers” feels a bit strange in its adherence to an Iron & Wine-version-of-“Such Great Heights” mode (from the chord progression right down to the lilting acoustics.) That being said, it’s a far cry from Mr. Beam’s whispery minimalism, showcasing mournful sweeps of pedal steel and cello as well as spacious piano and background vocals that lend it a sombre beauty.
Listeners looking to branch out into new sonic territories that span a wide emotional range from icy ballad to glittering power-pop will find something to like in Some Kind of Family. Stay tuned for its release on the 14th of April and take a listen to “Everything Will Change” below.
Top Tracks: “One Is Enough”, “On Miracles”
Rating: Strong Hoot (Good) + *swoop*
