The Night Watch

Ottawa, ON-based four-piece instrumental experiment the Night Watch are a musical chimera. Grafting together elements of neo-folk, soaring classical, acoustic black metal, vibrant neo-folk and even doom, their self-titled debut creates a lush, cinematic soundscape. The songs are often driven forward by Evan Runge's dancing, daring violin, with a great deal of the muscle and momentum supplied by Nathanaël Larochette's (Musk Ox) guitars and Wurlitzer. When all of the instruments collide, however, it often results in an elemental clash that hits the listener like a progressive cloud burst. What the Night Watch are able to do with textures is this record's greatest achievements, as a traditional violin line is laid atop a bleak, buzzing riff progression or some jazzy drumming is superimposed against a tender acoustic passage. Even at its gentlest and most tentative, The Night Watch has a metallic heaviness that makes this musical experiment a success.