Land of Talk is a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They were formed in 2006 and are led by singer and guitarist Elizabeth Powell. Their fifth album `Performances` is released this month.
The album opens with a brief instrumental soundscape in `High Bright High` before `Your Beautiful Self` leads us along a hypnotic journey with vocals that have a delightfully rich but gentle texture over a beating drum heartbeat and some intricate guitar chords sprinkled throughout the later part.
`Fluorescent Blood` has a trippy feel with lyrics that are shared through what sounds like a vocal modulator and seems questioning of a relationship that has floundered. There`s an almost overwhelming sadness about `Marry It` and indeed I read that it felt like a healing song to the writer. I really enjoyed the sparseness where the guitar chord frets could be clearly heard.
`Rainbow Protection` has a kind of retro almost Laurel Canyon vibe and appears to be about a longing to attain an idealised love that in reality is more than likely unobtainable. We enjoy a further brief instrumental piece with `Clarinet Dance Jam` a dreamy offering which highlights the under use of this single-reed woodwind instrument.
`Sitcom` has an underlying piano / organ-based sound and is a fairly deep and introspective reflective nigh on jazzy tinged number which had a slightly melancholic sense about it. A string arrangement is one of the many ingredients that make up the oddly captivating `Semi-Precious` which kind of ebbs and flows throughout it`s lifespan.
The album closes with a further couple of instrumental pieces with the short-lived `August 13th` and `Pwintiques` which runs at just over seven minutes in length and has a sort of cinematic presence.
`Performances` is a really fascinating listen and is the kind of offering that needs a few plays before it seeps into your psyche.
I must admit that Land of Talk are a band that I am not overly familiar with, so this album was an enjoyable introduction for me and if you are also unaware of this bands output, `Performances` is a good place to begin.
