(Secret City, Feb. 26, 2008)

Warning: prepare for some unabashed gushing.

Do you ever hear an album for the first time and get this tingly feeling—you know, the sort of immediate reaction that necessitates getting on the phone and telling whomever will listen about the fantastic new release you’ve just put on? That hasn’t happened to me for some time, but I couldn’t help becoming a little giddy as I gave Parc Avenue, the debut full-length release from Plants and Animals, an introductory listen.

Maybe it’s that warm and fuzzy sense of solidarity that comes with being on the bandwagon for an anticipated release, as Parc Avenue has been the recipient of a good deal of positive hype lately, but I was sold on this album pretty much instantly (though I could also be rebounding from feeling left out by the whole Panda Bear fascination—it just didn’t resonate with me).

Admittedly, I completely missed With/Avec, the last Plants and Animals EP. In fact, all I’d previously heard from the Montréal outfit was the sprawling and messy “Jacques,” off of their 2005 debut self-titled EP. Unfortunately, while the loose instrumental vibe inherent in that song endeared the band to me, they fell off my radar shortly after. Cut to 2008 and Parc Avenue sees the same cataclysmic exuberance tightened and applied to more focused ends—not to mention brimming with capable and melodic vocals (the more delicate of which sounding not unlike Tyler Messick of the Museum Pieces). The resulting combination is less acoustic Do Make Say Folk and more roots-filled Broken Social Scene meets Traffic (take the excellent “Feedback in the Field” for example).

Of course, by this point I really ought to just throw out the comparisons (there have been far too many already—just like these damn asides) and judge the album on its own merits, as it’s a very rewarding listen. Speaking of which, one quality definitely worth mentioning is Parc Avenue’s diversity. In keeping with the occasional delicacy of their past efforts, the album is rife with serene doses of melody (“Early in the Morning” for instance) while also kicking out some seriously groovy and rollicking jams (“Mercy”)—a trade-off that is well represented on the alternately bombastic and delicate “Keep it Real.”

In the end i (heart) music said it best by articulating that Plants and Animals have found an admirable way to combine “unabashed ambition with unashamed accessibility.” I also wholeheartedly agree that Parc Avenue is undoubtedly Polaris bound. Of course, more importantly, it brought back those musical butterflies that I forgot were possible.

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Check out a track from Parc Avenue below:

Plants and Animals - Feedback in the Field

Head over to Plants and Animals’ Myspace Page to hear more or grab a digital copy of the album here. Also, don’t miss your chance to see the band as part of the very enticing Chart CMW showcase at The Horseshoe on Mar. 6.