Loon Choir

(see link for full text, p.22)
In the lifetime of a band, four years is a long time.
Radiohead went from Pablo Honey to OK Computer
in four years. David Bowie went from psychedelic folk-
rock guru with Space Oddity, to glam god with Ziggy,
to the Thin White Duke in four years (yes, cocaine
is a hell of a drug). As I sat down on the couches at
Babylon with Loon Choir prior to their May Day show,
I couldn’t get this idea of four years out of my head. - Herd Magazine

Simply put, Canadian indie rock tends toward the epic. Maybe it’s the crisp air, or perhaps it’s the impressive, varied landscapes of mountain ranges and hockey rinks. Whatever it is, our northern neighbor has had a strong track record over the past decade for introducing us to bands with a firm grasp on the intricacies of dynamics, textures and harmonies. Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade, Metric: All three have seen tremendous success in the States and played integral roles in bringing Canadian alternative music onto a more global stage. And now, from Ottawa, ON, we have Loon Choir, a seven-piece art-pop collective that draws upon folk, chamber pop, electronica and indie rock for a sound that’s mature, melodic and theatrical.

Loon Choir came together in 2009, when singer/songwriter/guitarist Derek Atkinson formed the band with some long-time friends. Seeing as how the frontman was living a hectic life as a counselor, activist, poet, photographer/videographer, blogger and student, it’s impressive just how much material Loon Choir has been able to churn out in its three-year career: a plethora of singles, two LPs (the second, Fire Poems, is due out in March) and an EP. This ironclad work ethic, coupled with the band’s buzzworthy live show, helped it to get the recognition of peers and fans in its native Ottawa, where Loon Choir receives regular spins on FM radio.

From a musical standpoint, it’s difficult to categorize Loon Choir. Standard stadium anthems glisten with club-ready synths, but just when you’re settling into the dance-y grooves, the band has another surprise up its sleeve: the insistent whimper of a violin on brooding stomper of a single “Spiral,” a cover of Leonard Cohen that sounds not just cheerful but downright jubilant, and harmonies that drift in and out of the soundscapes like wisps of smoke. For all the genre-shuffling and instrumental nuances, there’s one constant: a taut, infectious sense of melody that is as soothing as it is stirring. Loon Choir’s songs beg to be heard in a packed room with dozens of your closest friends. When the band takes its epic sound to American venues later this fall, fans will have a chance to do exactly that.
- CMJ

Born in February 2009 out of a number of other music project, Loon Choir is still a relatively new band. They are still in the process of carving out their place in the music community. Just recently four of the band members traveled to the East Coast on what they called a “networking project”, busking on the streets, playing open mics, placing CDs in music stores, just to get their name known and make valuable contacts while there. Given their upcoming show at the i(heart) music festival organized by Matthew Pollesel with bands like the Most Serene Republic, it looks like their networking is beginning to pay off.

Their first studio album, “Expansion Forces” released in May 2010 was recorded in a couple of people’s houses, including Rolf Klausener of the Acorn. The album was produced with the help of James Bunton from Ohbijou and mastered by Ryan Mills. Singer and guitarist Derek Atkinson cites everything from jazz to bluegrass to hip hop to avant-garde music as the band’s influences. “But at the same time,” he notes, “I’m not trying to trick people into thinking that we’re making crazy jazz-core music or anything like that. It’s pretty straight up dance-rock with folk influences…”

It’s precisely this danceable rock with random hints of other influences that make Loon Choir’s rich sound fascinating. You can’t ignore the prominent fun dance beats or the melodic layers of synth that strongly evoke the new wave of dance-pop bands like the Netherlands’ Secret Love Parade, but you also glimpse Radiohead in the unexpected guitar riffs that swell in the background. They pull off the playful male-female vocal interaction as smoothly as Henri Faberge and the Adorables. The end result is songs like “New Forewarnings” or the more urgent minor key heavy “Woodlands” that execute the art of contrast effortlessly. Catchy yet haunting. Danceable yet provocative. - Apartment613

I wasn't sure what to expect from Expansion Forces, Loon Choir's debut album. After all, there were all kinds of factors upon which those expectations could be based, and I wasn't sure which one would actually help give me an idea of the direction the band would take. I've seen them in concert a few times, and each time I was impressed by their brand of buoyant pop, so they could've made an album chock full of that. Similarly, those live shows had a hint of chaos associated with them, since the band has six members and it's seemingly impossible for bands of that size to not sound at least a little chaotic; maybe going into the studio would unleash that chaos full blast? At the other end of the spectrum, last fall saw the band take their act on the road to perform the songs in an acoustic, stripped down manner, so that was also a possibility. And to throw a wildcard into the mix, the album was produced by Ohbjou's James Bunton after he approached them about doing the show, so it suddenly became possible that maybe Loon Choir's debut would find them exploring some less obvious, quieter, Ohbijou-ish aspect of their sound.

Somehow, Expansion Forces managed to confound even these open-ended expectations. It does so by mixing elements of two of those possible directions (the pop and Ohbijou ones) and taking them somewhere altogether different.

In fact, if I were to give an exact location of where they've gone, I'd say it's somewhere in the '80s. Both of the vocalists, Nicole Yates and Derek Atkinson, sing in a way that seems reminiscent of that decade; Yates has a definite Kate Bush thing going on, while Atkinson sings with a combination of heartache and ennui that brings to mind The Smiths and Joy Division. Musically, too, the songs bring the keyboards and synths up in a way that gives the whole thing a bit of a new wave veneer.

While the direction may come as a surprise, there's no questioning the fact that it's one that suits the band well. Songs like "Woodlands" and "Bricks" showcase an impressive ability to combine upbeat, catchy melodies with emotional heft, while on tracks like "Microcosm" and "Vis a Vis", Loon Choir demonstrate that their able to explore those emotions further without losing any of their listenability.

All of which goes to say that writing merely that Expansion Forces confounded my pre-conceived expectations doesn't quite do Loon Choir justice. After all, their debut shows that they have a lot more to them than they've shown to date -- in other words, they set an entirely new set of expectations for themselves. It makes for an impressive first outing, since it not only shows who they are, but also that they have it in them to grow to be a whole lot more. And that is most definitely a good thing. - i(heart)music

I wasn't sure what to expect from Expansion Forces, Loon Choir's debut album. After all, there were all kinds of factors upon which those expectations could be based, and I wasn't sure which one would actually help give me an idea of the direction the band would take. I've seen them in concert a few times, and each time I was impressed by their brand of buoyant pop, so they could've made an album chock full of that. Similarly, those live shows had a hint of chaos associated with them, since the band has six members and it's seemingly impossible for bands of that size to not sound at least a little chaotic; maybe going into the studio would unleash that chaos full blast? At the other end of the spectrum, last fall saw the band take their act on the road to perform the songs in an acoustic, stripped down manner, so that was also a possibility. And to throw a wildcard into the mix, the album was produced by Ohbjou's James Bunton after he approached them about doing the show, so it suddenly became possible that maybe Loon Choir's debut would find them exploring some less obvious, quieter, Ohbijou-ish aspect of their sound.

Somehow, Expansion Forces managed to confound even these open-ended expectations. It does so by mixing elements of two of those possible directions (the pop and Ohbijou ones) and taking them somewhere altogether different.

In fact, if I were to give an exact location of where they've gone, I'd say it's somewhere in the '80s. Both of the vocalists, Nicole Yates and Derek Atkinson, sing in a way that seems reminiscent of that decade; Yates has a definite Kate Bush thing going on, while Atkinson sings with a combination of heartache and ennui that brings to mind The Smiths and Joy Division. Musically, too, the songs bring the keyboards and synths up in a way that gives the whole thing a bit of a new wave veneer.

While the direction may come as a surprise, there's no questioning the fact that it's one that suits the band well. Songs like "Woodlands" and "Bricks" showcase an impressive ability to combine upbeat, catchy melodies with emotional heft, while on tracks like "Microcosm" and "Vis a Vis", Loon Choir demonstrate that their able to explore those emotions further without losing any of their listenability.

All of which goes to say that writing merely that Expansion Forces confounded my pre-conceived expectations doesn't quite do Loon Choir justice. After all, their debut shows that they have a lot more to them than they've shown to date -- in other words, they set an entirely new set of expectations for themselves. It makes for an impressive first outing, since it not only shows who they are, but also that they have it in them to grow to be a whole lot more. And that is most definitely a good thing. - i(heart)music

Ottawa, Canada indie rock synth pop band Loon Choir released their impressive debut album, Expansion Forces in May, but have yet to be featured on a popular blog or music site, until now. been and have been slowly rising in the eyes of bloggers, critics and fans. The band blends high 0ctane snyth notes, reverb and percussions to create addictive power pop, especially on the track, “Bricks”. Keep ears and eyes out for Loon Choir. - indie rock cafe