Woodpigeon

Three records into their short career, Calgary, AB's Woodpigeon have expelled the last remaining vestiges of twee-ness from their sound. The comparisons to Belle and Sebastian that have followed the band since their debut album back in 2006 now only apply to the their overall mandate, rather than their general sound. There are plenty of multi-member musical ensembles rocking ukuleles and glockenspiels ― the novelty wore off long ago ― and bands need to define themselves in terms other than their instrumentation. The seeds of this change could be heard on the group's sophomore record, Treasury Library Canada. Now, Die Stadt Muzikanten sees the band fully establish their identity, one that will find this ensemble on the other end of the "they sound like…" game. Like Stephin Merritt, main Pigeon Mark Hamilton, who wrote all the music and lyrics, takes his band's core sound and applies it to other genres; the title track opener is a Great Lake Swimmers-style roots number, while "My Denial in Argyle" is a full-blown rocker. Through it all are Hamilton's soaring melodies, propelling each song forward. Rather than simply building on the past, Woodpigeon's third album is a bold declaration of who the band are and what they hope to achieve in the future.