Allan’s World of Music

Plants and Animals is a band from Montreal that released their album Parc Avenue awhile back on February 26th here in Canada and March 25th to excellent review. They are currently on the long-list for the Polaris Music Prize for the top critically awarded album. Two bloggers are on jury (I(heart)music and Chromewaves) and while I may never get a sniff to be considered a “critic” I figure that reviewing more then a fair share of the top 40 should give me some idea of who is actually deserving in my opinion (we’ve covered 16 of the 40 albums on the long list).

Anyway, I’ve had this album sitting on my computer for some time. Since mid-April…I’ve really tried to listen to it and while some critics gave it high marks (including Pitchfork and PopMatters) the album itself has garnered a real quiet amount of blogging hype outside the Canadian’s blog that I read on occasion.

This review was never meant to be written once I have all but decided to not like this album. Thanks to Nancy for peer-pressuring me and mocking me into asking why do you seem to like everything? Well I don’t and I guess it’s time to let loose with no victims spared (you’ll see me hating some of your favorite records that I’ve tried my best to like).

What makes me dislike Parc Avenue? Well I guess you can argue that they are genre-bending as they don’t have a typical style that one can label with ease. However, the sense I feel like, is that I don’t want to label them anything. There’s a little bit of everything but not enough of one thing for me to say: “hey, this shit is amazing”.

Pitchfork threw a comparison to Blitzen Trapper and while it may be an alright comparison with a band being indefinable by genre, this album has nothing interesting nor the same risk-taking involved.

For the most part this album is safe, 615 condom safe to be exact (slight exaggeration and 615 condoms is not very safe). I think what gets me the most is that Plants & Animals choose to be safe, soft with nothing to the forefront on the tracks that are 6 minutes long (4 of those). I was not a fan of “Good Friend” or “Faerie Dance”. I want to see much more experimentation on 6 minute tracks, we live in a world of attention deficit disorder kids (you could include me…).

This album does have it moments but I can barely find those moments and it just becomes another album that lost in my increasingly growing music folder. Definitely overrated by critics. I just don’t see what’s great about this album.

Rating: 2.2 out of 5.
If you don’t like my review, fuck you! just leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Bye Bye Bye by Plants and Animals

Feedback in The Field by Plants and Animals

Even with the bad review, support your artists and buy records (Don’t need to buy from me)!
Buy Parc Avenue here: CD Universe/ Insound / Amazon

6 Comments for “Plants and Animals - Parc Avenue”

1. herohill — June 27, 2008 @ 5:24 pm
   
   

   You think this is safe? Wow. This is probably going to be my top Canadian record this year….

2. Allan — June 27, 2008 @ 6:28 pm
   
   

   I’ve seen like 10 of those (couldn’t get myself in an ounce of agreement)… and it’s “relatively” safe on those long tracks I guess.

3. Damien — June 27, 2008 @ 10:08 pm
   
   

   A fair and honest review. I agree that its a ’safe’ record in terms of its content and breezy style, but I’ve noticed a lot of the indie-pop reviewed on your blog carries the same vibe so I’m a little surprised by your comments. I liked this record because it clearly is a ‘Montreal’ record and captured many of the great elements putting their indie scene on the map at the moment. I suppose it just doesn’t make that final crucial push to something remarkable, but I think we’ll see great things from these guys in the future. their hearts are in the right place and sometimes thats what matters most.

4. Allan — June 27, 2008 @ 10:48 pm
   
   

   Hmm well to be fair I never really look at an album in the same context all the time (I probably should). I think it just didn’t do it for me and I had very little reasoning behind it. Other then playing it safe (which is a stretch because genre-bending isn’t safe), it just didn’t work for me. I still have a ton of work to do on negative reviews….

   A factor I should have put in there is that I have yet to visit Montreal so…those things may have passed me by.

5. Rob — July 2, 2008 @ 7:52 pm
   
   

   I usually hate this kind (long-hippie jam band-inspired) music, but I still enjoyed the album.

   I’d suggest you give it another go around…

   My review:http://londononburgeoningmetropolis.blogspot.com/2008/03/plants-and-animals-parc-avenue-im.html

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   [...] Fuck - LP 4. Caribou - Andorra 5. Basia Bulat - Oh, My Darling 6. The Weakerthans - Reunion Tour 7. Plants and Animals - Parc Avenue 8. Stars - In Our Bedroom After The War (not a review at all, opted to ignore it) I subconsciouly [...]

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