Although Montreal’s Wind Up Radio Sessions (this is a band name, by the way, not a podcast or anything of the like) bills itself as folk or folk-pop, they also do have a bit of rock in them as well. It is this ability to not just fit into one genre that makes this full-length so appealing.
With the beginning of the album, “Me and My Doe” (I’ll also include the video at the end) it’s easy to fit them into the genre of gentle folk and pop. The guitar sound is very laid-back, the vocals are gentle and there is the occasional piano key. But then, all of a sudden you get to a song like “Nairobi” and then you realize that there’s a lot more to them.
This album has a number of strengths, one in that all three members of the band, Marc and Dan Kiely and Matt Lazenby sing at one point or another. There’s something about group vocals that always seems to get on my good side. As well, no song on the album exceeds the four minute mark. The band is good at getting their messages across in a short time, a good thing in our attention-deprived age.
They also have some very clever lyrics, such as the a phrase from “Let Me Go” (which, by the way, has an organ in it): “God knows I’m second-rate/And God knows I’m trying to redecorate.” Or, my personal favourite lyric from any point in the album, from “Registration”: “Have a sandwich but just not bologna.”
The album has its folk moments, such as in “Lazy Bee” where not only does the guitar sound indicate folk, but so do the vocals. However, like “Nairobi,” “No One Came” is also really heavy, and even has a guitar solo! So it’s not an album that you can easily categorize.
After a second listen, I realized that I liked this album a lot more than I thought I did the first time. It’s a great album to play at a small get-together at someone’s house.
Top Tracks: “Lazy Bee”; “Nairobi”