The Most Serene Republic was the first group signed to Arts and
Crafts that had no relationship to Broken Social Scene. Yet it’s clear
the label didn’t want to stray too far from its golden hen: both
collectives dabble in dreamy soundscapes, in setting sweet melodies
against crunchy breakbeats, and in being Canadian.
Serene Republic’s ethereal third LP also calls to mind a wide range
of other artists. Careering piano lines negotiate the tricky time
signatures of poppy opener “Bubble Reputation,” and vocalist Adrian
Jewett, doing his best Doug Martsch impression, cements the Built to
Spill associations. Jewett splits vocal duties with Emma Ditchburn, and
the boy-girl harmonies conjure fellow countrymen Stars. So does the
melodramatic schmaltz, like I thought we established we were
friends/Now go amscray, from a track called (no kidding) “Catharsis
Boo.”
Almost every number dissolves into twenty seconds of breathy,
multi-tracked madness — there’s a reason for those ellipses in
the title — but the group’s polyphonic intrigue is wry enough to
protect the album from its cutesy-pie, apropos-of-nothing lyrics. And
in tough times like these, … The Ever Expanding Universe
provides a nice excuse to put on the headphones and look up at the
stars. There’s nothing wrong with having one’s head in the clouds, but
this band could stand to make the occasional contact with earth. (Arts
and Crafts)
