Kalle Mattson

Kalle Mattson could be a case study for the Gen Y approach to music marketing. Coming of age just as the "brick and mortar" system was starting to crumble, the Ottawa, ON band used their million-vieweing video for "Thick as Thieves" to link fans to their Bandcamp page. Six months after their breakthrough LP, Anchors, the five-piece offer up Lives in Between, a quaint five-track EP that shows off a more nationalistic side. Mid-EP tracks "The Shore" and "Water Falls" demonstrate what makes Kalle Mattson's music so engrossing: slack guitar, pop (rock)-and-lock pacing and devil-may-care vocals. But it's the EP's other three tracks that show the band's insecurities, utilizing the same toy percussion, horn outros and gang vocals that so many other artists are doing in this country at this very moment. Those satisfied with the Said the Whales and the Rural Alberta Advantages of the world will find much to love in Lives in Between, others will just have to hope Kalle Mattson rediscover their distinctive voice.