Reviews:: My People Sleeping Feye

Last year, I was blown away by a little EP from Montreal’s My People Sleeping. The songs seared with an intensity and torment I never expected. The standout track, Seahorse, painted a vivid picture using beautiful, slow, moving three-part harmonies and terrific strings, but there was an underlying man vs. machine frigidness that made parts of the song chilling. The tension and beauty of the release was something that hit me hard and stuck with me for weeks, so when the new record ended up in my inbox this weekend, I pulled a Cappadonna and “put all other LPs back on the shelf.”

Feye - released in Montreal on Dec 11th - is an epic collection of songs suited for grandiose cinematic sweeps. MPS still deliver the same intensity, but the effort seems to be more controlled as the quartet allows the listener to settle into long, beautiful instrumental sections and often relies on understated vocals (just listen to Cortes or the last few minutes of the strong opener Pope). Oddly enough, feye means destined to die, but the heartbeat of this record is strong and defiant. Each of the seven songs is moody and pain filled at times, but surprisingly determined. You succumb to the nostalgic beats and chords as you looking back to happier times but somehow still find a surprising comfort in your modern melancholy.

At times the band sounds a bit like Beach House, which is always a good thing, but the recordings are far from a simple “sounds like” ode to a popular sound. They change pace more successfully, keeping the listeners ever so slightly off-balance. The shuffling percussion of Bloodhounds finds the band stretching their legs and the frantic energy of Yes No No mirrors the chaos of an ocean storm and shows the band is willing to push the boundaries of what most would find comfortable. Ruby Kato’s falsetto moves alongside the organ on the powerful Take Anything, but the band finds inspiration as they slowly build to an optimistic crescendo.

But at the end of the day, it's the icy tones the the Montreal band uses that captivates you. For the most part, the compositions are often made from crystalline winter textures, the type you search for as you huddle in cold rooms hoping to see an all too brief appearance of sun during the coldest months. You can almost see your breath when you listen to Sounding Pitch and sometimes it's that snap of cold that makes you feel alive and sends a warmth coursing through your veins.

MP3:: My People Sleeping - Cortes
MYSPACE:: http://www.myspace.com/mypeoplesleeping

Labels: Montreal, Music, My People Sleeping, Reviews