The Automatik

2006, V2 Records

It’s been an exciting few years for The Meligrove Band.

Not long after the release of 2002′s Let it Grow, Andrew Scott joined the band, transforming the trio into a quartet and adding his skills on guitar, keys, and vocals. The band recently signed to V2 Records and have been playing shows across Canada to promote the songs from their newest release, Planets Conspire, an album we fans have been awaiting with impatience.

It was well worth the wait.

Sonically more complex than their previous albums, and lyrically alluding to themes of love, hope, yearning, inspiration, and nostalgia, you may be surprised when you hear it, if you are one of those who think that this band is merely a Beach Boys nostalgia trip or smug, derivative hipsters. And it’s closer to what a live Meligrove Band show is like than any previous studio recordings, thanks to their ever-growing talents and the production skills of By Divine Right’s Jose Contreras.

Immediately the album seems more sombre than what we’ve grown accustomed to from The Meligrove Band. The lyrics, though sometimes dark, are more uplifting than anything else you’ve heard this year. Jay and Darcy’s vocals on this album outshine everything they’ve given us before – they’re well beyond their peers and even many of their elders. But it’s not just the singing; the dynamic between the rich orchestrations and the soaring vocals is one of the things that makes this album such a wonder, as it showcases the band’s unique style of non-traditional pop songs.

The transitions between these songs are flawless, rendering it almost concept-album-like, as it seems to literally pour from the speakers. But there’s no bloated, self-importance to be found here. In here it is pure, yeah. From a strictly musical standpoint, the instrumentation is impressive. The swell of strings and the preponderance of layered vocals create a sophisticated result, but again, one in which there are absolutely no pretensions.

Planets Conspire (God, I love this title) provides further evidence that The Meligrove Band aren’t just four guys noodling around, but an actual band who play off of one another. “Grasshoppers in Honey” is solid proof of this and includes an almost whimsical piano break that matches perfectly with the beat of the guitar and drums, later joined by fuzz bass and decidedly non-twee whistling.

Although “Everyone’s a Winner” has been dubbed the “focus track,” it’s definitely competing for infectiousness with the phenomenal chorus of “Our Love Will Make the World Go Round,” demanding that we come up with a new way to define catchy, for this isn’t disposable pop; this is stuff that gets into your bloodstream and overwhelms you.

If I said nothing on the album was more overwhelming than “I’m Easy,” I’d be lying to you, but its sheer gorgeousness tends to blot everything else out while it’s playing, featuring one of the most beautiful lines of this or any other year.

Where motion eased in a reflection on the eye
Is where the molecules of stars are born so we can die

Just when you think your heart’s going to burst, there’s “Free on the Air,” which feels like you’re sailing towards the sort of golden, hazy sunset of nostalgia and then wallops you again with another perfect lyric.

Recollections get the best of me
Picturesque and playful then
Sublime now to a bitter end

Not to detract anything from the transcendence of “You’re Alive,” but by the time I get to “Delivered From All Blindness of Heart,” the most painfully good song I’ve heard in a long, long time, I’m practically weeping from the beauty of this album.

If you’re not listening to The Meligrove Band already, then you have no right to kvetch that new music sucks.

Planets Conspire will hit retailers in January 2006. If you can’t wait that long, check the band’s website for tour dates – they have advance copies available at their shows.