Contrived
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(Hand Drawn Dracula)
The Yarmouth-bred, ultimately Halifax-based collective Dependent Music discreetly faded out of the scene years ago, but for over a decade it was the home of a number of influential artists. Founder Brian Borcherdt released his solo records through its network; Wintersleep, heavy meadows and Jill Barber all had key releases with the DP logo on the back and in its last few years it expanded to include Land of Talk (now on Merge) and the pre-Broken Social Scene project Junior Blue. Other artists sold more, toured more, were more celebrated, but none appeared as locally beloved as Contrived, which released two neo-classics in Pursuit of Plots and Dead Air Verbatim. Consisting, essentially, of Wintersleep with Mike Macneil on vocals, the quintet has returned with new direction, trading in its brand of nimble aggression for melodic layers, like Apostle of Hustle with more focus and less wank. Macneil sounds like a whole new singer, pushing his voice to its upper register in the right spots (“Eavesdrop”), delivering the more poignant lyrics—i.e. environmental statements in songs about death (“Celebrate”)—more clearly than he has in the past, joyfully doubling and grouping vocals all over the place (“Not a Goodbye,” “Keepsake”). Without sacrificing the timekeeping or driving guitars, Contrived has reinvented itself in a way you can enjoy beyond these city limits.
Tara Thorne
categories: Coast pick,Local artist
This article appears in Dec 11-17, 2008.