Plants and Animals
Parc Avenue
Release Date: Mar 25, 2008
Genre(s): Indie, Rock
Record label: Secret City
Music Critic Score
How the Music Critic Score works
Album Review: Parc Avenue by Plants and Animals
Very Good, Based on 2 Critics
Based on rating 7/10
Arising from the same musical tree as fellow Canadian Patrick Watson, Plants and Animals are a very sophisticated, arty group that meld a wide arrange of influences. The bombastic, orchestral opener "Bye Bye Bye" could be considered a melding of the Polyphonic Spree, Devendra Banhart, and the Beatles, but the band nails the song perfectly. Walking such a fine tightrope though for an entire album could be a mistake, so fortunately the group offers up a panoramic plate of styles, especially on the groovy, prog rock feel of "Good Friend" that recalls a mellower version of the Flaming Lips.
Opinion: Very Good
“It takes a good friend to say you’ve got your head up your ass,” sings guitarist/vocalist Warren Spicer. Looking at the freaky friends they’ve assembled for Parc Avenue’s cover shoot, Spicer and his colleagues (drummer Matthew Woodley and multi-instrumentalist Nicolas Basque) were likely egged on to push the boundaries of their folk rock. That means grabbing any instrument they can wrap their fingers around, inviting brass and strings sections and navigating carefully between African grooves, Harvest-era Neil Young backbeats and jam-band territory.