Solar Year - Waverly

by Dave Goodwin

published: 13 / 6 / 2013

Label: Splendour Records
Format: CD

intro

Repetitive and confusing but occasionally impressive reworked debut album from Canadian electronic duo, Solar Year

It has been said that Solar Year, who have been praised for their forward-thinking and foreboding but to-the-point pop productions, create music for the globally-minded listener. David Ertel and Ben Borden first engaged our consciences with their single 'Brotherhood' which featured the equally electrically-charged Grimes, and received rave reviews from ‘Pitchfork’, ‘Gorilla Vs. Bear’ and ‘Stereogum’. This prompted the initial release of Waverly’ by Montreal imprint Arbtus, who have Grimes on their roster but also house TOPS and Blue Hawaii. ‘Waverly’, which came out in the summer of 2012, was initially quietly released in limited quantities. Ertel and Borden, however, returned to ‘Waverly’ in late 2012 to give the album a new look and fresh perspective they felt was lacking. This new result is now presented as “a revamped experience entirely re-mastered, newly mixed, and re-sequenced with updates on several tracks matched with the addition of new material.” Solar Year certainly have a gifted knack for sticking in samples from wherever they find them knocking around. Couple that with some pitched-down electronic doodlings and Ertel's soaring, choir-like vocals, and you have the basics for what is essentially Solar Year. Like a pair of wandering electric nomads, Ertel and Borden have a habit of setting up on one coast for a few months, and then all of a sudden pack up and move on to the next destinations. Do you remember those weird dumpy desert dwellers, the Jawas? Cross those little uncertainties with a stripped-down enigma. The only problem for me is that for all their worldly meanderings they, however, haven't yet found the secret to the art of different sounds from different places. Don't hang the messenger here just yet though! Give him a chance. I don't know whether they were intentionally creating an hour's worth of the same kind of music or it just turned out like that. Don't get me wrong! It's not that I haven't enjoyed what is ‘Waverly ‘because in a strange way I have. There are some good inventive and standout moments in there. It just sounds to me a little samey. ‘Brotherhood’ is the standout track, but there are others as equally strong, although they all sound as if Grimes was in that one too. ‘Waverly’ has got me totally confused. I keep yelling at the iPod to break into some rampaging beat like Numan would, but the other chap buried in my deep and scary sub onscious is quite reasonably pointing out that perhaps it's supposed to sound like that. I listened to this in the last throws of the day when I was ready to close my eyes and drift off to tomorrow, and if that's what Ertel and Borden had in mind then this is a masterpiece. If it's not what they had in mind, then a little diversity on the next won't go a miss.

Track Listing:-

1 Currents
2 Global Girlfriend
3 Magic Idea
4 Brotherhood (Feat. Grimes)
5 Abby & Amber
6 Night & Day
7 Lines
8 Vu U
9 Seeing the Same
10 Cardinal Points
11 Pivot