Four-part folk nostalgia
The Wilderness of Manitoba release promising EP
By Annie Bender, Film & Music Editor
Issue date: 11/10/09 Section: Film & Music
The folk music scene in Toronto gets wider by the year, and Bruce Peninsula aren't the only folkies getting sentimental about Canadian geography. Urban nostalgia for the rural has become almost cliché amongst indie musicians these days. From a veritable army of plaid-clad fans to hopelessly romanticized tales about albums recorded in woodland cabins, the indie community is undeniably characterized by a desire to reconnect with a simpler lifestyle. These sentiments are clearly reflected in the music of emerging indie-folk band The Wilderness of Manitoba, whose debut EP Hymns of Love and Spirits was released on October 29.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Toronto's The Wilderness of Manitoba are in fact not based anywhere near their prairie namesake. This has in no way encumbered their artistic process, however, and the four-person band has already garnered significant media interest. In addition to a recent gig opening for Rural Alberta Advantage, the foursome has been featured on CBC Radio 3- noteworthy accomplishments for a band that has yet to release a full-length album.
Frequently compared to Fleet Foxes, and with good reason, The Wilderness of Manitoba continues the growing indie-folk tradition with a strong selection of acoustic songs carried in large part by their use of vocal harmony and simple, stunning melodies that clearly reference traditional American folk. Ever since its rise to prominence in the folk revival of the 1960s, the genre has carried a strong ethic of independence and raw intimacy. At its heart, the home-recorded lo-fi Hymns of Love and Spirits EP is a throwback to that quest for an intimacy often hard to come by in modern urban spaces.
With an intro that consists of recorded nature sounds, its emphasis on simple melody and strong four-part harmony, opening track "Bluebirds" offers little doubt of the band's quest to associate itself with both the modern rural nostalgia and the musical sentimentality of an earlier folk era. A single cello line further develops this sense of longing, creating a peaceful yet haunting quality that permeates the entire EP.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Toronto's The Wilderness of Manitoba are in fact not based anywhere near their prairie namesake. This has in no way encumbered their artistic process, however, and the four-person band has already garnered significant media interest. In addition to a recent gig opening for Rural Alberta Advantage, the foursome has been featured on CBC Radio 3- noteworthy accomplishments for a band that has yet to release a full-length album.
Frequently compared to Fleet Foxes, and with good reason, The Wilderness of Manitoba continues the growing indie-folk tradition with a strong selection of acoustic songs carried in large part by their use of vocal harmony and simple, stunning melodies that clearly reference traditional American folk. Ever since its rise to prominence in the folk revival of the 1960s, the genre has carried a strong ethic of independence and raw intimacy. At its heart, the home-recorded lo-fi Hymns of Love and Spirits EP is a throwback to that quest for an intimacy often hard to come by in modern urban spaces.
With an intro that consists of recorded nature sounds, its emphasis on simple melody and strong four-part harmony, opening track "Bluebirds" offers little doubt of the band's quest to associate itself with both the modern rural nostalgia and the musical sentimentality of an earlier folk era. A single cello line further develops this sense of longing, creating a peaceful yet haunting quality that permeates the entire EP.
Be the first to comment on this story