Yves Jarvis, Sister Ray, and Cam Maclean
Yves Jarvis
The Zug // Flemish Eye Records
As the musician at the helm of numerous projects, including the cryptic & prolific Un Blonde and the mind-warping collaboration with Romy Lightman under the name Lightman Jarvis Ecstatic Band, Jean-Sebastien Audet has consistently, relentlessly pursued the unusual, the sublime, and the experimental. Under the name Yves Jarvis, he first released The Same but by Different Means in 2019, and followed this with Sundry Rock Song Stock, a wonder of rhythms and textures that flutter and wow with tape saturated retro balladry. His latest album, The Zug, leans deeper into psychedelic rock, reveling in polyrhythmic patterns, exploratory synth riffs, and wildly expressive playing at every turn. While the songs are short— only two squeak past the three minute mark, the shortest only a minute— they are each a perfect sandwich of sound, a perfectly balanced bite of sushi wrapped in the binding seaweed of analogue tape compression. Every grain of rice is given love and care, everything in its right place.
From the opening strums of “At the Whims,” the statement of intent is clear: while you are a guest in this world, your ride will be subject to Jarvis’ whims. Frippian guitar textures swell in the background, synthesizers squiggle at the periphery, and his airy multi-tracked vocals coast over the field. The parade of voices of “You Offer a Mile” rush over and around the clatter and thump of the drums, one mysterious phrase tumbling out after another. Chad VanGaalen animated the lysergic music video for “Prism Through Which I Perceive”, a pleasantly slippery ditty that flows past in sixty colorful seconds, refracted light passing through a brief sunbeam.
The thumpy pop of “Bootstrap Jubilee” is a self-mythology of Jarvis’ musical upbringing and career, and it is also unmistakably a pop song— though notably devoid of pop structure, flowing from this part to that and back, every shift feeling Right while remaining unpredictable, anti–formulaic. My personal favorite “Enemy” is a miracle of tape art, as if Jarvis laid out the song physically on the floor then started drawing with it, crumpling it up here and stretching it out there, sound itself a tactile putty in his hands.
As a songwriter, instrumentalist, recording engineer, producer, more, Yves Jarvis has perfectly attuned his sound to his own frequency, has climbed the mountain, raised his hand like an antenna, and tapped into a radio wave of his own. What we are given from these transmissions are fuzzy and crackling gifts, jittery with strange energy, otherworldly but somehow familiar, nostalgic for a time that has never existed. Though he certainly appears to have touchstones to which he pays homage in his sound, they have been altogether transformed through the prism of his perception, transmuting lead into gold. While the heavy weight of reference and irony may bear down on less nimble songwriters drawing on the vast tapestry of the 60s, here Jarvis turns out richer stuff— light on its feet, malleable to his will, and incredibly bright with promise.
- Harman Burns
Sister Ray
Communion // Royal Mountain Records
For years, Edmontonians were privileged to watch Ella Coyes, the artist behind Sister Ray grow their talents. Quickly, they became known for their ability to captivate an entire room into silence as Sister Ray workshopped songs, often improvising sets. The honesty and emotion pouring out of Coyes in those rooms felt so real and raw. You’d look around and find tears on half the crowd's faces. Sister Ray’s debut Communion captures that same energy so deftly.
For Coyes, writing Communion was out of necessity, a mechanism to look inward and examine trauma, identity, love and loss with sheer honesty. Coyes' delivery and lyricism emanates the feeling that these songs provide the opportunity to remove themselves from the situations they ponder, and examine from an honest perspective, free from judgment. On “Reputations,” a track leaning on more pop sensibilities and production, Sister Ray sings of a relationship that has run its course. And yet Coyes spares their partner as they chant “keep your reputation for when you really need it.”
Coyes’ skillful ability to paint a setting through song gives Communion a deep level of sincerity. On “Good News”, Coyes weighs generational trauma as they recount moments, feelings, and people from their youth growing up Métis. While death is referenced throughout, Coyes contrasts these feelings with fond memories “about the sweet smells, all the ones we tucked in the breast of our blouse.” Yet after the promise of salvation, with brutal honesty, it's admitted that still “death meanders around the room.” On “Power” Coyes explores their own motivations. As they describe scenes from a relationship, Coyes shifts the blame to themselves repeating “I was just looking for power then.” As the scenes evolve, the meaning behind those words feel as though they shift from an explanation to a call for help. As the words repeat, it's hard to not share in those same feelings of helplessness.
While the narratives present throughout Communion are often less direct, they all have a powerful ability to convey emotion. Communion feels like it comes from a truly introspective place. The references contain such delicate details, yet Coyes has a way of delivering these sentiments in a way that feels so relatable. That Sister Ray would sign to a label the calibre of Royal Mountain Records felt like an inevitability for anyone who has witnessed Sister Ray’s path to this point. It’s a debut in a career with a lot of promise.
-Kennedy Pawluk
Cam Maclean
Secret Verses // Self-Released
Montreal based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Cam Maclean is bringing his well crafted lyrics and contemporary indie-folk sound to the table with his sophomore album, Secret Verses, a collection of nine songs that invite you not only to groove along but also to lay back, relax and take a good listen. Released on May 13th and produced by 2021 Polaris Prize winner Rollie Pemberton (Cadence Weapon), this record is full of experiences and catchy lines waiting for you to enjoy them.
Influenced by 70s folk, 80’s new wave and even contemporary classical music, Maclean started to write the songs and work on the first demos for his second LP in late 2019, but when the pandemic hit, the same songs started to take a new direction, a whole new meaning now inspired by the experiences and emotions felt during all those months of uncertainty.
Encouraged by Pemberton as producer, Cam embraced eclecticism and honest expression in putting together this record. Secret Verses represents a new chapter for his musical career and it further develops his unique writing style as well as his desire to explore new musical territories.
To have a better idea of what I am talking about take a listen to the opening track, “Shy Companion”, an up-beat tune with a touch soft rock and nostalgia that reminds you of the passage of time, the memories we collect along the way and how those memories can keep us going when we need them. Another memorable track is “Thief”, not only because it contains the lyrics that inspired the album’s title, but also because this song can put you in a relaxing state of mind while the lyrics will make you ponder about the simplicity of life; it’s a reflective song capable of evoking multiple feelings all at once. I could keep going but it is always best if you listen for yourself.
Needless to say, Cam Maclean and Rollie Pemberton did a brilliant job with the music, production, and overall energy of the album. I don’t want to give too much away too soon because “Secret Verses” still has a few more songs for you to discover. So now is your turn to press play and fall in love with this album.
- Fel Gamarra
