Rococode

If Vancouver's indie scene can be said to have a sound, it's a sure bet that Said the Whale, Tegan and Sara and Mother Mother have had a hand in creating it. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that an act featuring collaborators and former members of those artists have bottled that sound into this surprisingly catchy album. Andrew Braun and former Said the Whale keyboardist Laura Smith snagged Johnny Andrews and Shaun Huberts (aka Tegan and Sara's rhythm section) to bring their compositions to life, giving the pair's dark tunes an indie pop makeover. Manning the boards is Mother Mother frontman Ryan Guldemond, who shapes Braun and Smith's voices in similar fashion to those of his group, turning tracks like "Empire" and "Weapon" into soaring anthems. Several reviewers have already noted that Rococode sound more like the sum of their influences than an individual band. While that's true, at this point it's unfair to criticize the band for doing something so extremely well, given how many other acts can't pull off a similar feat.