Filed under: Musing, Reviews | Tags: laura steveson and the cans, music reviews, new music
Laura Stevenson and the Cans – Sit Resist (Don Giovanni Records) 2011
This week sees the release of Brooklyn’s Laura Stevenson and the Cans sophomore album, Sit Resist. I really enjoyed Laura Stevenson and the Can’s last record, appropriately titled A Record, and when they announced they would have a new record out this Spring, I was very much looking forward to it. Then a few weeks ago, at South by Southwest, I had a couple of chances to see the Cans live. They played some tracks off this forthcoming record, and I was then even more so looking forward to it. Luckily I did not have to wait long to check it out because right after I returned home from Southby, they put up the pre-order for the record with an immediate download of the record (three weeks before it’s release).
Three weeks later, with the record being released tomorrow, I have been listening to the album almost non-stop. Oddly, when I first started listening to the record, it did not grab me in the same immediate way their last record did. This record felt a little different, with vocals a little more buried in the mix, and certain richness (and less raw) in the sound. The songs were a little more complex and a little more subtle. Slowly but surely though, the record grew on me and got stuck in my head, and under my skin. Laura’s sweet, but often subtly haunting, vocals and smooth melodies are what sets this band apart from other female front bands with that jangly indie rock sound. Accompanying Laura is a great bunch of musicians (the Cans) who provide the perfect mix of rock drums, guitar, and bass with accordion, horns, and string arrangements, to paint the background and set the right tone for Laura’s vocals. On top of it all this is the cleverness of the songwriting, that finds a way to feel both polished and raw at the same time. This is a great album that I am really enjoying, and I’m completely satisfied with it. Standout tracks include the indie pop rocker “Master of Art”, the Jolie Holland esq “Care Taker”, the bouncy “The Healthy One”, and “the Wait”. That being said, give this album some time and you will be enjoying all the tracks. I recommend it for fans of Lemuria, Regina Specter, and Tegan and Sara.
Here is Laura Stevenson and the Cans performing I See Dark (as part of the Nervous Energies Sessions):
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