The Stills-Not Just Another "the" Band

by Jenn Kane

The Stills, a standout indie rock band

Were The Stills just another band beginning with "the?" What could possibly be so different about their music? So what if this quartet hails from Canada, where sensibilities lend themselves toward being a little more creative than their US counterparts? That quality alone does not make a band.

My first encounter with their music occurred while working, when I found myself tapping my foot or nodding my head to the undeniably attractive tunes from their debut album, Logic Will Break Your Heart (Vice/Atlantic).

Their influences range from Joy Division to every New York City indie band such as Interpol, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and The Walkmen. Yet, somehow their music captures that nearly unattainable ability to be both messy and pure, except for track three, "Changes Are No Good." Upon listening to this song, I had to stop the album and make sure I hadn't accidentally switched to the Interpol album, Turn on the Bright Lights (Matador Records).

Singer Tim Fletcher has a throaty, forlorn range that makes every lyric (however inane or meaningful) sound as though it just may be the one to break his heart. Drummer Dave Hamelin, guitarist Greg Paquet, and bassist Oliver Crowe fill out the rest of each song, building a lovely set of canvases for Fletcher's voice.

Admittedly, not all of the songs are perfect. Some tracks slide by unnoticed; they are neither bad nor good. But for every song like that, you get an "Animals and Insects," which begins with a drumbeat and a pause. It stays quiet, building hesitantly but his voice transforms them into something painful and heart wrenching, making this a truly solid album, which is a compliment of the highest degree. With quicker drumming and guitar riffs until Fletcher pleads, "I stumble out of a nightclub thinking / animals and insects don't do drugs / oh my god / oh my god / oh my god." The lyrics sound cynical and flaky on paper, but his voice transforms them into something painful and heart wrenching, making this a truly solid album, which is a compliment of the highest degree.