Listen: BRAIDS - "Deep Running"

When you consider that Canadian art pop trio BRAIDS had enough songs not only for their sophomore full length Flourish//Perish but also the In Kind//Amends EP, the fact that a previously unreleased cutting room floor track would emerge makes sense. That for some reason the track didn't make it's way onto the aforementioned EP or full length however is slightly mind boggling when you hear it.  

"Deep Running" follows a rather similar structure to "In Kind" namely in its monumental builds towards its intense climax. Other than that however, "Deep Running" is very much its own beast - all lilting melody and calm, sumptuous languor before Raphaelle Standell-Preston adds a bit of thorniness with her oddly pleasant shout vocals. One of the great things about BRAIDS has always been Standell-Preston's vocal control and it's certainly at play here as the shouts stay absurdly in-tune while conveying the mounting frustration that'd make them likely to slip. It's the cherry on top of an already precisely constructed track - its layers not unlike the microscopic view of a chemical compound; its bond unquestionably solid with nary an imperfection in sight. 

"Deep Running" is an excellent addition to an already impressive catalog of sounds and while it's strange that it almost didn't see the light of day, at least BRAIDS have finally righted that wrong. 

Pitstop: SoftSpot

A few months ago there was a week where Caleb from Lands & Peoples more or less had full control over what I posted on the blog. It wasn't a blog takeover or anything like that he just kept suggesting bands to me that he thought I'd be really into and he happened to be right. Brooklyn psych-rock trio SoftSpot was actually one of the first bands Caleb suggested to me. Earlier during the year Lands & Peoples played a house show with SoftSpot and when I saw Caleb the next day he had nothing but good things to say about them. 

When I finally pounced upon the recommendation and listened to the Nous EP I couldn't help but notice a definite similarity between SoftSpot and Secret Mountains. Laid back, slow burning jams wrapped up in psychedelic fuzz? The bands seemed almost too similar for me to compare. How could I describe a band as being almost exactly like another band while urging you to listen to both bands? The answer: Don't. I'm glad SoftSpot's debut full length Enso was exfm's album of the week last week as it allowed me to see the band in a whole new light. While Soft Spot shares Secret Mountains patient gently unfolding delivery, there's far more to them than that. Sarah Kinlaw's vocals are much more in line with BRAIDS' Raphaelle's Standell-Preston and her quiet coquette-ish coo than Kelly Laughlin's mighty roar. 

But SoftSpot are a band of their own design not just a composite of other arty bands you know and love. Their songs are insistent and ear-catching even despite their occasionally labyrinthine construction. In fact, a lot of their songs, especially on Enso, function as extensions of each other sliding effortlessly into the other. SoftSpot's songs feature reoccurring sonic themes and structures that fall anywhere from a repeated inflection to a continuous winding guitar riff. Ultimately Enso as well as all of SoftSpot's releases are intensely interesting listening experiences where the longer tracks capture and maintain your attention and the shorter ones make you crave for more.  They're a balance of dark, mysterious brooding jams with a rather underplayed pop sensibility deployed stealthily to keep the track aloft and coasting on its occasionally meandering path. 

Listen to SoftSpot's excellent debut record Enso now.

BRAIDS - Native Speaker (2011)

BRAIDS is one of those bands that's existed on the edge of my awareness for a bit. I know I've heard of them before and yet can't place where or when that might have been. But it was their recent show in the UK with The Antlers that convinced me to give them my full attention. The Canadian quartet is composed of some of the most unassuming youths that I might have ever seen. They don't really look like the type to even want to be in a band, much less able to put out their silky smooth type of music.

Not quite ambient, not quite hard rock BRAIDS' debut Native Speaker is something in between. Minimalistic in approach and arrangements, fizzed with the occasional hizz or fizz of electronics, Native Speaker is an album that revels in its subdued nature. In fact the only thing that really jumps out is the vocals that rise up above the blanket sounds that act as its base. And even then, the vocals are more a part of the action than as a device used to actually attract attention. BRAIDS are a unit, each part important in its own special way, each member treated as equals: Extensively showcasing instrumentals throughout the album.

Native Speaker is as intriguing as a soft-speaker in a crowded room. Capturing your attention by its sheer reluctant to actively demand it. Even with your volume all the way up, it still manages to feel whispery and confessional without the heart-on-your-sleeve lyrics that sort of thing usually entails. It's airy and distant but also intimate and not afraid of being unpretty as evidenced from some surprisingly boisterous parts in "Glass Deers".

Get a taste of BRAIDS with the music video for "Plath Heart":