The sophomore effort from Sylvie, a quartet based in Regina, is really great and made me realize once again how much fantastic music is being made in this country. The cross-border mega success of one Canadian act, like Arcade Fire, often tends to overshadow the less well known and emerging Canadian groups. So be a patriot for a day and pick up An Electric Trace, I promise it will not disappoint.
The opening track “Hit and Run” is fantastic. It captures what I like best about Sylvie — their ability to seamlessly fuse sweet, melodic indie pop with harder rock segments that have an almost punkish quality to them. “Hit and Run” begins with front man Joel Passmore at his best—loud, angry, and raw—and then before you know it quickly transforms into a catchy pop tune. I have to say I really enjoy the dichotomy between the two very different styles. It is refreshing and constantly keeps you guessing where the song is headed.
“Shopping Isles” has more of a punk sensibility; it is much louder than most of the other tracks, and has less of a conventionally pretty sound. “Small Difference” is softer, more melodic and very catchy; more akin to mainstream indie pop. Sylvie has great range and an impressive ability to make excellent songs in many different styles. Although the tracks fit together well as an album, they all offer something different. You definitely will not become bored while listening to An Electric Trace.
“Common Art” has a really catchy hook and is just a plain old fantastic rock tune; it’s fast and it makes you want to dance, and you won’t be able to keep yourself from singing along. It’s catchy enough to make a radio hit. The title track, “An Electric Trace” is entirely instrumental; with great beats and guitar riffs I was pleasantly surprised to find a track without vocals on the album. Sylvie uses this song to show off their first-rate musicianship.
Sylvie is planning to tour across Canada behind An Electric Trace and I highly recommend going to see them when they hit your hometown. Who knows, they may just be Canada’s next big thing.
