Style: Alt-rock/Americana; compare to Jenny Lewis, Johnny Cash, Wilco
Top tracks: “Brief Life,” “Anywhere Is Home,” “Is It Not Wonderful?”
This band paraphrases historic hymn texts with a musical multifariousness fitting for a band hailing from the famously diverse Nova Scotia. Left-of-center vocalizations, experimental instrumentation, and indie production resurrect the antique poetry of hymnody like Charles Edward Oakley’s “Hills of the North, Rejoice” (c. 1870) and C.A. Miles’ “Dwelling in Beulah Land” (c. 1911) with raw hipness. Though the vocals, and therefore verses, are sometimes shrouded by thick production, the charming vintage electrics and country western pedal steel of the late 19th century “The Wayside Cross” and J.M. Henson’s 1961 gospel song “Anywhere Is Home” are simply stunning.
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