Album Review: Touch by July Talk

July Talk is a band steeped in duality. They mine the classic binary touchstones — good and evil, sacred and profane, life and death — but do so in a way that feels novel rather than kitschy and prosaic. This is largely because of their commitment and their thorough methodology. Visually, for instance, they uniformly present themselves via photos and videos in stark black and white.

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On their debut, Toronto rockers July Talk laid the bedrock for a sound, a disco-blues groove underlying him vs. her vocals, that catapulted them to the top of the Canadian alt-rock charts. On Touch, the quintet take on the often attempted, rarely achieved goal of expanding on that sound without alienating the sizeable audience that has supported the band thus far.Despite its success, July Talk was an uneven album buoyed by a handful of barnstorming singles (subsequent re-releases appended some strong material that nevertheless emphasized its patchiness).

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There is an unsettling juxtaposition between dueling vocalists Leah Fay and Peter Dreimanis of the Canadian blues-rock five-piece July Talk that keeps listeners engaged throughout their latest album Touch. While Fay’s vocals are soft and sultry, they are immediately cut by the demonic growl of Dreimanis, and aural example of the ancient philosophy of yin and yang. On Touch, July Talk expands far past the garage blues of their debut album, incorporating a new pop sensibility to their grating brand of rock.

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July Talk's sophomore record bristles with the electricity of connection - between singers Leah Fay and Peter Dreimanis and the characters inside the songs. What happens when connections are severed, too tight or aggressively pursued? These questions permeate the album from its first impression, a stunning cover painting of two hands touching by Toronto artist Charles Bierk. July Talk's swaggering rock 'n' roll is radio-friendly and straight-ahead more often than not, but the outfit's dynamic - defined by relationship, a tangible tension stretched to its limit by Fay and Dreimanis's push and pull - lifts them above many of their peers.

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