Words by Nick Mee. @Nickjmee
Having released their first album in 2008, the relative lack of renown of Canada’s Plants And Animals can be attributed to their songs’ habit of going off on tangents, of being subject to sudden drops, tempo and time-signature shifts and characteristic folkish meanderings just as the listener is settling into the groove. These intriguing, unpredictable compositions were brilliant in parts, but could frustrate through their lack of a stable refrain. There are traces of these inventive idiosyncrasies on ‘No Worries Gonna Find Us’ – orchestral snatches, layered multi-instrumental cameos and an ambitiously snaking closing section, flute to boot – but this is a single after all, and it finds the band belting out cohesive, bold and bouncy indie-soul, all sturdy groove, twinkling arpeggios and a memorable chorus – yes, a wholehearted refrain – about not surrendering your life to anxieties. It finds Plants And Animals settling into a gleaming pop-roots uniform and it sure does suit them.
Plants And Animals’ new album, Waltzed In From The Rumbling, is out now on Secret City Records