Quick-hitters:: Under Electric Light

Danny Provencher is one of those DIY musicians that really should be heard more. Unfortunately, he lives in a town where great bands pop up every day and finding your stride is not an easy process. He performs as Under Electric Light, and you can easily settle into his 80/90's inspired fuzz. I could start naming bands - New Order would be my first jump off point or maybe Ride - but I'd rather just talk about the blissful melancholy his songs create. Countless acts try to put together the simple notes in beautiful combinations, but very few succeed.

His latest EP - After the Blue - is a mere four songs, but the lush compositions will warm the heart of anyone who ever felt depressed and searched for something they could relate to. This Moment starts with bouncy bass line and machine gun drums, but the meat of the song is the nice guitar noodle and textures that wash over you like a wave. Once you settle into the array of sounds, you start to focus on his voice and he's able to make you feel like he's singing directly to you.

He's able to toe the line between aping the greats and finding his own niche. He samples from the catalogs of the artists that shaped modern shoegaze, but his arrangements are a bit more modern, a bit more upbeat.The fuzz is still present, but instead of a smoky club filled with people in black with bad hair his fresher electronics help you hear traces of bands like the Notwists as Provencher's voice wavers flutters between the UK and Scandinavian counties.

All in all, this little four song EP is worth checking out.


myspace :: buy the album