Land Of Talk
Fun And Laughter EP
Saddle Creek; 2009
Guest Contributor: Jen Broadwell
Elizabeth Powell no doubt has a gorgeous voice. What irks me just a bit is that her lyrics are most often indecipherable. Nevertheless, it is with this innate musical instrument that she commands the Canadian trio Land of Talk. Saddle Creek Records, the folks who brought you Cursive and Bright Eyes, are prepared to liberate the band’s new 4 song EP, Fun and Laughter, featuring “May You Never” as the lead single.
“May You Never” offers up a telling bundle of Land of Talk’s extolled techniques. Beginning with a sound that approximates the haunting tones of a squeaky door hinge or a stale swing set, a downward scaling piano provides the equally eerie interlude to Powell’s infectious coo. Her sultry vocals are akin to those of Tift Merritt and add to the song’s aforementioned mysteriousness, coming fully to the surface as the guitar and drum provided beat picks up. While sung in a tender manner, her lyrics are quite dismal, from what I can make of them. “Visions on visions / blinding me over time / but I won’t go missing.” Along the lines of facing your fears, she seems to be announcing her courageous plan to stay put rather than run or hide from what is frightening her.
What you hear is what you get – aside from an occasional tiny bit of distortion, nothing here seems altered or enhanced. Even with the drums of Eric Thibodeau leading “Sixteen Asterik” and Joe Yarmush’s powerful electric guitars directing “As Me” and “May You Never,” Powell cannot escape her miscellaneous folk influences. Despite the fact that she transitioned away from traditional folk music quite early in her career, Powell’s echoing purr and current calming rock fortes mesh nicely with persistent old tendencies.
By and large inflicted by EP’s spacey arrangements, Fun and Laughter left me with a subdued feeling at its conclusion. Nevertheless, Elizabeth Powell’s amorous, charming vocals, while at times isolated from the other components on the album, fit beautifully alongside her own rangy guitar playing plainly declare that this is definitely her band and she’s damn proud of it.
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Jen Broadwell is a music blogger from Houston, TX who runs the site Music Artiste. She enjoys attending local show and writing scene reviews and interviews. She also enjoys indie festivals and national indie shows and often posts her thoughts on such events, along with new music videos. Since her hobby doesn’t pay the bills, she works for the University of Houston in Development.