Woodpigeon

If anything can be said about Calgary, AB's Woodpigeon, it's that Mark Hamilton is constantly changing his sound. It's been almost three years since the release of Hamilton's last LP, BALLADEER / to all the guys i've loved before, although there have been a few EPs, and in that time he's arrived at a more stripped-down sound for his fifth full-length, Thumbtacks and Glue, letting go of the quirky bells, handclaps and staccato piano notes in his previous work. As opposed to BALLADEER's whispering vocals and organic feel, Thumbtacks and Glue experiments with a number of different styles instrumentally while maintaining louder, more prominent vocals than we've generally seen from Hamilton. The record offers a few poppy tracks before switching gears for "Children Should Be Seen and Not Heard," an upbeat guitar cruncher, followed by the soft echoes of "Little Wings" and orchestral tune "Edinburgh." While Thumbtacks and Glue most likely won't become your favourite Woodpigeon release, the large range of sounds and styles on this album is something we don't usually hear from Woodpigeon, which makes it worth a listen.