Faunts

Furthering the assumption that Alberta is starting to make its mark on the country, Edmonton’s Faunts put their best foot forward with a mix of post-rock build-ups and indie stylings that happily doesn’t live up to their unfortunate album title, but still makes just the barest of missteps. Opener "High Expectations” is strictly paint-by-numbers post-rock, essentially leading the way for the raw "Instantly Loved” that, through its thunderous crashes, demands attention. This standard is somewhat diminished, though, by the dreamy pop quality of "Memories of Place We’ve Never Seen,” and so, a little pattern is established. Moving between the crashing instrumental highs and shoegazer pop, Faunts create an interesting musical mix that would most likely be a potent live offering. Appreciating the humble nature of the title is hard, though, when the pitch-perfect melancholy of the epic "Gone with the Day” show a band that does the exact opposite. As befitting the inherent imagery in the title, this track floats along at a resplendently slow pace, allowing the vocals to echo away like some lost goal. Faunts may bounce around the spectrum of genres, but when they get it right, it is hardly a shitty result.