Spitfires & Mayflowers

Packaging should never truly be a reason to buy unfamiliar music, but the exception to the rule is without a doubt Triumph. Custom made into a CD-sized library book, complete with a coded, identification sticker on the spine and a sign-out card that contains the track listing, Spitfires & Mayflowers’ debut album is a dream come true for bookworms and librarians. It’s nice to know though that with such first-rate presentation is music that matches its container’s design in quality. The product of this Toronto-based foursome pounding away since forming in 2002, Triumph is a seven-track mini-album that captures pop’s good side from a number of angles. The wonderfully titled "Pirates” onsets the festivities with an uplifting circus of melodies courtesy of some weaving and bobbing guitar hooks, and an outstanding breakdown that leads into a live band intro. It’s hard not to think of their melodies in "Bad Grammar” as being on a par with Ben Folds, or their instrumental meddling on "Halloween Fable” akin to Pavement. The constant interplay between members, as well as the shifts in tempo and voices, amongst the multiple singers, keeps the music fresh and the listener guessing right through to the end. Triumph indeed.