woodpigeon

Guardian's new band of the day, Woodpigeon is a collective of Canadian musicians who make anthemic, grandiose chamber music. Not surprisingly, they've been lumped in with another band that fits well into the same description by saying that they "come across as a sort of semi-acoustic Arcade Fire or full-band version of Sufjan Stevens." Though I actually see more of a musical resemblance to Sufjan, especially in lead singer Mark Hamilton's vocals, 'a full-band version of Sufjan Stevens' seems contradictory, if not completely void of all significance, to what Sufjan actually does. But that's neither here nor there. 

Woodpigeon are from Calgary and follow in their countrymens tendency to play in multiple bands at once. So too do they take cues from their country's well orchestrated indie-pop. Less of a juggernaut than Arcade Fire and not as gritty as Broken Social Scene, Woodpigeon evoke the joy of roaming through untamed woods or lazing in rolling fields during autumn's cascading light. "Knock Knock" croons and beats to a backdrop of a billowing guitar line, while the weird "Death By Ninja" deals with a desire to kill "with just one little punch." Hey, at least Canadians are still weird, right? And with the bevy of great bands that Woodpigeon effectively join, who can complain? Not I, not I.

They have an album out now titled Treasury Library Canada which can be purchased here by a pay-what-you-want paypal order or by buying a more traditional, physical copy.