Review: Elias – “Lasting Distraction”
Posted November 13, 2009 1:13 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Good for Elias.
Despite being a band many might simply dismiss based on the similarities between their sound and one made popular by the likes of Radiohead, Muse and The Stills, the Vancouver-based trio plods ahead with its new record, Lasting Distraction, out on Wax Records Oct. 13.
Yes, the new disc plays with many of the same ambient, hard-edged vocal stylings that might render the band redundant to some in this ever-swollen world of indie rock, but production, when done properly, can go a long, long way.
Recently dubbed by Spin.com one of eight must-hear B.C. bands, the new album will likely find new ears simply based on the fact that it was produced by hands that once pushed forth B.C.’s Hot Hot Heat and mixed by Mike Fraser, who’s turned switches for Franz Ferdinand and AC/DC.
But transcending the expansive field of competent Canadian rock may be difficult for Elias. The band is polished yes, but their new album seems slightly tired, something perhaps more suited to 2005 than 2010.
Even the lyrics on tracks like “Dropouts” hint at as much with lines like, “We all support this game,” and “This cookie-cutter process.”
Nevertheless, this is sub-genre-specific music and what it lacks in eccentricities it works to make up in consistency.
If your iTunes is littered with atmospheric, big-sound Canadian rock, prepare for the Genius to make a Lasting Distraction a suggestion.
And if that’s your alley, then Elias is right up it.
As for how long the distraction will actually last, that remains to be seen.
