SYLVIE
An Electric Trace
Smallman Records
· The sophomore release from this Regina post-punk four-piece. They play live at Broken City on Friday, November 25.
Most mentions of Sylvie are quick to point out that the band features guitarist-vocalist Joel Passmore of the now-defunct Despistado. This may be true, but given the fact that Sylvie have been around for six years, long before Despistado became Jade Tree Records’ first Canadian signing, proves that the band should be judged on its own terms.
While there are moments on An Electric Trace that hint at the band’s previous incarnation as a metal outfit, for the most part the album succeeds as a fluid but squelchy bit of DC-inspired punk. Admittedly, "What You Find You Leave With" has moments that sound alarmingly like the Spin Doctors, but those passages are mercifully fleeting. The rest of the time Sylvie take their cues from Minus the Bear, looping languid guitar leads over melancholy vocals or blowing songs open with the requisite emo loud-quiet, stop-start. Lovely female backup vocals by Riva Farrell and a keen understanding of the concept of musical tension sweeten the pot. Hypnotic, catchy and understated, Sylvie aren’t doing anything new, but they do keep it fresh.
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