Nearly two years after albums like Who Will Cut Our Hair Out When We're Gone and Heart made their stir, Montreal is only now being proclaimed "the next big scene" in features namechecking long-settled tenets Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Kid Koala, and Akufen. With all eyes fixed on the Land of Poutine, Vancouver knew it could do better and went woodshedding. If 2003 was the year Quebec vied with Brooklyn for crown jewel status in the fiefdom of hep, 2005 might be the year the western Canucks seize the throne from the peaks of Whistler/Blackcomb on high. Which means bands like Black Mountain, the Organ, and Readymade should earn their mainstream pittance 'round 2007?
Readymade must feel like they've waited long enough. All the Plans Resting, the band's third album, marks its 10th anniversary. Until now, the British Columbia quintet have sported arresting, slightly precious dream pop. All the Plans Resting sees them focusing their sound and futzing around with an acoustic guitar. Kevin Hilts is a Christo of MIDI pads, guilelessly wrapping Readymade's sonic superstructures in bright billowy fabric.
I wasn't lying when I said precious. Readymade sing fuzzy-wuzzy-- if less flagellant-- high school idylls ("Venetian light stripes the room/ Faded by highball perfume"), which are thankfully offset by the often breathtaking instrumentals. "The Fake But No Finish", from which that prolix nugget was drawn, is a jangly echo-fried nod to Electr-O-Pura-era Yo La Tengo. The band share lyric-writing responsibilities; three out of five members penned verses for All the Plans Resting, with Hilts' six vocal sheets leading the way. The keyboardist likes to romanticize his efforts as a penman: On "Nightsky of Exit Signs", atop soft swelling synths and pirouetting acoustic guitar, the verse (as sung by vocalist Arch) goes, "Writing lyrics on the back of a magazine by my bed in the light of computer screen, as if I'm the drama, as if I'm cinema." The MIDI pads ring of shlock, but the song is lent an edge by the swift emergence of a keening oscillated guitar melody.
All the Plans Resting is a headphones record. Don't even try bumping it in your Jeep, it won't make sense. Over 13 tracks, the record stays its course, but it can be a long and arduous trek. Readymade work within consistent dynamics and tempi; after 10 years, they know what they do well, and are almost too comfortable resting on their strengths. As such, All the Plans Resting can seem a slog-- a pretty one, yes-- but any monotony is redeemed by the catchiness of "The Fake But No Finish" and "Outlast By Rain". A decade into their career, Readymade have realized their best record, and the band's shear endurance should be an inspiration to a burgeoning scene awaiting wider recognition.
