The brand new album from Aidan Leclaire Band, Hail to the Canines impresses with its alt-rock immediacy and poignant thematic introspection — taking explicit inspiration from George Orwell’s Animal Farm and its allegorical critiques of totalitarianism. The band, based mostly in Washington, D.C. and Northern VA, labored on the album with producers Ben Inexperienced (Ivakota Studios) and Nico Laget (Candy Spot Studios), who assist channel a seamless sound depictive of life’s simultaneous chaos and fragility.
“The album is supposed to really feel uncooked and soiled, but in addition stunning,” the band’s frontman, Aidan Leclaire, says. “I needed it to replicate how messy and fragile our lives could be, and the way even in that chaos, there’s one thing value holding onto.” Opening observe “Good Boy” invigorates in its lyrical reflections of discovering goal, and in the end emphasizing in that valuing of life. Whirring guitars and a punk-ready rhythmic presence complement vocals that steadiness discovering one’s goal with the comparative ease of embracing escapism, because the riveting vocals conclude in planning to “stroll off this earth to search out one other house.”
The following “She’s Electrical” captivates with a moodier total arsenal, melding twangy guitar delights with a soothing vocal warmness — exuding a way of perseverance in its “keep on” chorus, and persevering with to convey the invention of self in its shows of an actress accustomed to placing on “completely different faces.” A fervent rock method returns on “Discover Me,” withs it catching hook — “do you want me now?” — being fondly paying homage to late ’90s and early ’00s power-pop/rock hybrids, a la Weezer and Rooney.
One other standout observe arises in “Is This All There Is?” — the place dreamy guitar jangles pair with “gonna change” vocal aspirations, as a relationship-in-tumult is artfully emitted. “Why does it at all times really feel this tough?” the vocals marvel, exhibiting shades of The Replacements in its pleasurable shifts from subdued vulnerabilities to ascending emotion. “Finest Buddy” comes subsequent and dazzles in one other aesthetic completely, embracing a starry-eyed balladry with swooning vocal harmonies that complement a smitten lead vocal presence. Whistling and comforting vocal layers mix for an particularly memorable send-off.
Album finale “Darkish Days, Lengthy Nights” is a hypnotic, meditative gem that wraps up the discharge with resonating affect. The title-touting chorus combines with conversational vocal results as twangy guitars bolster the textured total enchantment. It’s one other piece of high-quality songwriting on an album that constantly envelops with its combination of melodic approachability and thematic ruminations on self-discovery and a society in flux. Hail to the Canines is an intensive success from Aidan Leclaire Band.