THE MEDICINE HAT - ALBUM REVIEW

The Medicine Hat - Old Bones (Porcelain Records) 
The Medicine Hate - Old Bones

More new music from Canada as The Medicine Hat have produced the audio version of that couple that we all know that make us want to shout "get a room" at their smug, saliva covered faces. Y'see, Toronto's The Medicine Hat are formed around the love of Nabi Loney and Tyler Bersche which will either make this a passionate and brightly burning album or an absolute slush fest of the most unbearable kind. For starters is the Kate Bush singing with Hot Hot Heat treat of 'All These Eyes' followed by the organ driven delight of title track 'Old Bones'. So far so good, this is a genuine  and heartfelt love with the fragility and tenderness of Feist mixed with the steely resilience of Tanya Donnelly. The soft shoe shuffle of 'Bodies' is dreamy and romantic which is largely fine but it flirts dangerously with the Dawson's Creek soundtrack style that would be a huge letdown.

The pulsating accordion at the start of 'Going' is pure Arcade Fire in their early days while 'Spits Out The Light' has a delightful, lilting charm to it that could only be Canadian or, at a push, Scandinavian in origin. It is this innocence that often comes with pure, unconditional love that runs like a vein throughout this album and ties all the songs together beautifully. 'Ships', for example, has a certain swagger and sassiness about it but that purity and innocence is still there like words through a piece of seaside rock. 'Moths' is a woozy, late night piece of smoky romance which is soon blown away by the restless organ and keys work on 'Statues'. Finishing up with 'Children's Song' is the only way this album could have gone as we experience the full, Polyphonic Spree style freak out abilities of the Medicine Hat and their wondrous range of genres, sounds and ideas. If these ever do get a room then I would like to be in that room too. But not in a creepy, voyeuristic way. Hmmm, this analogy is seeming increasingly ill-advised.


More information: http://themedicinehat.com/

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