International Falls

The Plateau

BY Kevin HaineyPublished May 1, 2006

An hour outside of Vancouver in a town called Langley lie International Falls, a camp of four who have harvested together some of the cream of indie pop’s crop over the past couple years to help bring us a wonderful debut in The Plateau. Phil Elverum (Mount Eerie/Microphones), Karl Blau, Thanksgiving, and Wolf Colonel are just some of the Olympia, WA indie helpful who leant their hands to this finely crafted pop album. Elverum even went so far as to draw the suitably playful cover of the album. Produced by Of Montreal and Circulatory System member Derek Almstead, the collaborations are fitting considering International Falls’ slightly psychedelic charm will appeal to fans of all these guest artists, as well as other indie pop touchstones such as mid-career Sloan and the dearly missed Olivia Tremor Control. The Plateau possesses a wonderfully uplifting simplicity, as well as a lightly experimental approach in much of the recording that makes it a subtle, humble and joyful pop experience with just the right amount of mysterious depth to keep things interesting the whole hopping way through.
(Secret)

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