Elliott BROOD -
Days Into Years (2011)
So this is probably one of the albums I was looking forward to most this year and it doesn't disappoint. I was a little skeptical at first after the single "Northern Air" was released, it sounded more of the same, but that song is not a clear representation of the album. This album is far more rock orientated, lots of overdrive, yet not enough to completely drown the album. Songs like "West End Sky" and the aforementioned "Northern Air" do nod towards their previous two albums and EP, yet they're not so steeped in nostalgia that it gets in the way of the music. The lyrics are really where the album excels; the band was traveling through the back roads of France and came across a memorial for the Canadian soldiers who died in World War I. The overall theme of the album is about the millions of lives taken because of the War, an entire generation of young men silenced and countless lives displaced because of the conflict. "If I Get Old" talks about the dreams of just surviving the conflict to go home, the reward is just being allowed to grow old and live easy. Overall this is an album that should not be overlooked and if you like alternative country, indie rock, or folk, this is definitely an album (and band) that deserve your attention.