The Lovely Feathers

In 2006, Montreal's the Lovely Feathers broke onto the scene around the same time as Vancouver's Mother Mother and Hamilton's Wax Mannequin, creating a trifecta of quirky Canadian indie rock as unique as the musical landscapes from which they emerged. As the Lovely Feathers' debut, Hind Hind Legs, contained honey and vinegar melodies that virtually fell over itself, their follow-up finds the five-piece much more composed and results-oriented, eliminating their "quirky for the sake of" motif. By the time the listener comes across the stiff, sugary "Finders Fee" nearly midway through the album, it's apparent that the Lovely Feathers have decided on a uniform sound — martinis served in an oversized sombrero — as the regal bass and jester guitar of "Vaulted Precedents" attest. Fantasy of the Lot still finds a band moving in every which way possible but in the case of the Lovely Feathers, every direction seems to be the right one.