Arctic Film

I'd like to be able to tell you more about this CD, but it arrived at Exclaim! with no information other than an address and the bits and pieces of a story print-out covering the CD and its case. The music on this nine-track, 21-minute CD is quite accomplished, opening with a fuzzy, shoegazer-esque anthem, and eventually moving into darker, dreamy tracks that hearken back to early New Order, or the current work of down-tempo bands like the Clientele. The singer's strained singing occasionally presents a challenge to the listener, but the music shows great songwriting skill. This is most likely a home recording, and the lo-fi, heavy reverb production style works well on the catchy, short tracks. Most of the sounds are created by acoustic and distorted guitar, with backup from a drum machine, and I'm guessing that this is the work of a single person, although the mysterious circumstances of this CD's arrival leave that up to the imagination for now. Who are these incognito BC songsmiths known as the the Arctic Film? Inquiring minds may want to know, as this is promising album of emotional, moody guitar pop.