Mt. Royal "Let in the Light"
Published May 14, 2008
My knowledge of Medicine Hat, Alberta is limited to a couple of hockey references, namely the minor league Tigers and the birthplace of soon-to-be-retired Vancouver Canuck Trevor Linden. The fact that they have a band as explosive as Mt. Royal was beyond me until their "Mad Foxes EP (reportedly produced in widescreen Technicolor) crossed my desk.Along with some nicely assembled, "indietastic! cardboard packaging and a no-bullshit bio insert offering free demos of their forthcoming album to anyone who emails [email protected] comes five songs of unbridled rock that when performed live has no regard for human life. (Or at least I can imagine NBA play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan saying so.)
Im not gonna sugar-coat this and say Mt. Royal sound like nothing Ive ever heard before. But to their credit, the racket they make exudes traits from a few different bands that I certainly love and know others get a kick out of too, especially on EP standout, "Let in the Light. The off-timed and scattered kit-bashing along with the muscular, rollercoaster riffage reminds me a lot of Wolf Parades Apologies to the Queen Mary, while the heavily distorted and rampant organ reflects Spencer Krugs more unrestrained work in Sunset Rubdown. And then theres the vocals of the DiNinno twins, Robert and Thomas, which sound like Man Mans Honus Honus is being eaten alive, which surprisingly, in its visceral rawness, is simply a beautiful thing to hear.
Luckily for everyone in Canada, pretty much, Mt. Royal are about to step out into the Great White North for a cross-country rockin road trip with the hotly-tipped, Chad VanGaalen-produced Women, which has so many dates we couldnt fit them on this page. However, you can read them all by clicking here.
Mt. Royal "Let in the Light