Fjord Rowboat - Under Cover of Brightness

Under Cover of Brightness
Fjord Rowboat
Label: Roxton Records
Release date: June 15, 2010
Tracks: 10, Duration 43:29

Under Cover of Brightness, the recent release by Toronto’s ‘Fjord Rowboat’ provides a good mix of electronica laced shoegaze. A little like ‘Future of Forestry’, a little like ‘Anchors’, a lot like ‘The Clash’ on valium. Like most music of this genre, most of the songs meld together being both moody and dreamlike.

This is well written shoegaze showcasing lyrics which moderate the emotional increase shown though music. “Even You Out” is a fine example with steady vocals and increasing crescendo. “We Are on Time” takes a somber look at our world and culture with the cutting chorus,

‘We are on time, for the last reconstruction of our minds’.

Lyrical gems continue to flow with ‘The Only Ones” presenting a story of despair, accountability, and hope with,

‘Gotta take ‘em all head on before you go and loss your own, maybe we’re the only ones that still have them screwed on’.

“Cottonwood Glacier” provides master shoegaze,

‘I turned my back on hell when hell turned its back on me, I grabbed a better seat at that distant shining sea’.

“When I Speak of Violence” turns it up a notch having a life of its own as the rhythm romps along providing foundation for lyrics and guitar,

‘When I speak of violence I’m thinking of you, ‘Cause when I speak of violence you better know I’m talking to you, when I speak of silence I’m speaking of you, when I speak in silence you best know I’m talking to you’.

The album is a solid effort, this is shoegaze zone-out at its best. The more you listen the more you’ll find yourself turning back to this LP. Post-punk lives on in Under Cover of Brightness.

http://www.myspace.com/fjordrowboat
http://www.tollbooth.org/2010/reviews/frb.html

SS Mertens