It's their first full-length record, but Villages' self-titled debut carries with it what feels like a thousand years of history.
Pulling heavy influence from traditional Celtic and British folk (while simultaneously summoning the buzzy production of modern-day pop), Villages is the sum of many parts — all of which play a particular role in the high-calibre merit of the eight-track album.
Musically and lyrically, it's unlike almost anything else coming out of North America today — from the melodramatically authentic vocal inflections in "Sarah's Whistling Tune," to the beautiful, bygone usage of language in "Moonlit," to the liquor-love-letter vulnerability in "Ale," this record radiates a palpable honesty felt from start to finish.
Before rebranding as Villages, the talented four-piece—who hail from Halifax by way of Cape Breton—were East coast indie rock favourites, Mardeen (whose song, "Telephones", was made widely known by Mo Kenney's cover, released in 2014).
Anchored with poignant poetics and convicted, string-focused melodies, Villages delivers a full, thick sentiment — one that trades mortality for martyrdom as the band sets out to bring new life to a dying genre — conjuring imagery of one standing atop a windswept cliff, offering itself up to the mouth of the ocean.
(Independent)Pulling heavy influence from traditional Celtic and British folk (while simultaneously summoning the buzzy production of modern-day pop), Villages is the sum of many parts — all of which play a particular role in the high-calibre merit of the eight-track album.
Musically and lyrically, it's unlike almost anything else coming out of North America today — from the melodramatically authentic vocal inflections in "Sarah's Whistling Tune," to the beautiful, bygone usage of language in "Moonlit," to the liquor-love-letter vulnerability in "Ale," this record radiates a palpable honesty felt from start to finish.
Before rebranding as Villages, the talented four-piece—who hail from Halifax by way of Cape Breton—were East coast indie rock favourites, Mardeen (whose song, "Telephones", was made widely known by Mo Kenney's cover, released in 2014).
Anchored with poignant poetics and convicted, string-focused melodies, Villages delivers a full, thick sentiment — one that trades mortality for martyrdom as the band sets out to bring new life to a dying genre — conjuring imagery of one standing atop a windswept cliff, offering itself up to the mouth of the ocean.