And I Thank You

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And I Thank You
And I Thank You.jpg
Studio album by
The Elwins
ReleasedFebruary 21, 2012 (2012-02-21)
RecordedBear Creek Studio, Woodinville, Washington
Genre Indie rock, retro pop
Length28:18
Producer Ryan Hadlock

And I Thank You is the first full-length album by Canadian indie rock band The Elwins. Before its release on February 21, 2012, it was named among the top 20 most anticipated Canadian albums of 2012 by Exclaim! [1] The single "Come on Out" was the number one song on CBC Radio 3's The R3-30 chart for the week of June 9, 2012. [2]

Canadians citizens of Canada

Canadians are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, several of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Canadian.

Indie rock is a genre of rock music that originated in the United States and United Kingdom in the 1970s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produced and was initially used interchangeably with alternative rock. As grunge and punk revival bands in the US and Britpop bands in the UK broke into the mainstream in the 1990s, it came to be used to identify those acts that retained an outsider and underground perspective. In the 2000s, as a result of changes in the music industry and the growing importance of the Internet, some indie rock acts began to enjoy commercial success, leading to questions about its meaningfulness as a term.

The Elwins

The Elwins are a Canadian indie rock band from Keswick, Ontario, consisting of singer and guitarist Matthew Sweeney, drummer Travis Stokl, guitarist/keyboardist Feurd and bassist/singer Frankie Figliomeni.

Contents

Production

The preparation, recording and release of And I Thank You spanned several years. The ten tracks that would eventually form the album were written as part of an exercise by the band wherein each member would write a new song every week, which yielded a catalog of about 50 total songs. [3] The band traveled to Philadelphia to work with producer Bill Moriarty, who assisted them in expanding demos into full songs and in refining their sound. [4] After this pre-production, the band recorded fourteen songs at Bear Creek Studio near Seattle with producer Ryan Hadlock from late October to early November 2010, and of those 14, ten were chosen for inclusion on the album and mixed by producer L. Stu Young in Toronto during February and March 2011. [3] [4] [5] After production was complete, the band explored the possibility of releasing the album with a record label, but eventually decided to release the album independently. [6]

Philadelphia Largest city in Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, known colloquially as Philly, is the largest city in the U.S. state and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the sixth-most populous U.S. city, with a 2018 census-estimated population of 1,584,138. Since 1854, the city has had the same geographic boundaries as Philadelphia County, the most populous county in Pennsylvania and the urban core of the eighth-largest U.S. metropolitan statistical area, with over 6 million residents as of 2017. Philadelphia is also the economic and cultural anchor of the greater Delaware Valley, located along the lower Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, within the Northeast megalopolis. The Delaware Valley's population of 7.2 million ranks it as the eighth-largest combined statistical area in the United States.

Demo (music) song or group of songs recorded for limited circulation or reference use rather than for general public release

A demo is a song or group of songs recorded for limited circulation or reference use rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed format, such as cassette tape, compact disc, or digital audio files, and to thereby pass along those ideas to record labels, producers, or other artists.

Seattle City in Washington, United States

Seattle is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With an estimated 744,955 residents as of 2018, Seattle is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of North America. According to U.S. Census data released in 2018, the Seattle metropolitan area's population stands at 3.94 million, and ranks as the 15th largest in the United States. In July 2013, it was the fastest-growing major city in the United States and remained in the top 5 in May 2015 with an annual growth rate of 2.1%. In July 2016, Seattle was again the fastest-growing major U.S. city, with a 3.1% annual growth rate. Seattle is the northernmost large city in the United States.

Reception

And I Thank You received favourable reviews from critics. It was praised for its "sunshiny" and "jaunty" rhythm and "fun" melodies that are simple but still interesting "even after the third or fourth listen". [7] [8] Several reviewers noted the band's retro sound, especially reminiscent of The Beach Boys, though with "subtle modern twists". [6] [9]

Retro style is a style that is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from the historical past, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. It may also be known as "vintage inspired".

The Beach Boys Rock band from Hawthorne, California

The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by their vocal harmonies and early surf songs, they are one of the most influential acts of the rock era. The band drew on the music of jazz-based vocal groups, 1950s rock and roll, and black R&B to create their unique sound, and with Brian as composer, arranger, producer, and de facto leader, they often incorporated classical elements and unconventional recording techniques in innovative ways.

Rob Duffy of The Grid gave the album a rating of 8/10, commenting that

<i>The Grid</i> (newspaper) former weekly newspaper in Toronto, Canada

The Grid was a weekly newspaper in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, published from 2011 to 2014. The paper was launched on May 12, 2011, after owner Torstar discontinued publication of its previous title Eye Weekly.

The band’s innate pop sensibility marries ’60s-inspired guitar licks with a similarly nostalgic talent for weaving innocent tales of life and love, the kind of magic that makes And I Thank You that rare pop-rock album where the verses are as breathlessly catchy and delightful as the choruses ... Even as they mine vast deposits of pure and polished melodies, The Elwins flawlessly execute songwriting virtues like variation and pacing, a natural talent that puts them a country mile ahead of so many of their peers. Get acquainted with them now, because they’re destined to soar. [10]

Daniel Korn of Cadence Canada also noted the band's unique sound, stating that the band "fits quite easily into the indie-rock paradigm, but they have their own style that feels rather effortless." [8] However, he criticized the album's production, calling it "muddy" and "oddly lo-fi". [8]

Track listing

  1. "Come on Out" – 3:32
  2. "Stuck in the Middle" – 2:57
  3. "Behind My Eyes" – 2:49
  4. "Forgetful Assistance" – 2:40
  5. "Paper in Your Pocket" – 2:33
  6. "On Your Doorstep" – 1:57
  7. "Are You Flying With a Different Bird?" – 2:09
  8. "Propinquity" – 3:32
  9. "I Miss You and I" – 3:15
  10. "Sittin' Pretty" – 2:54

Personnel

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References

  1. ↑ Hudson, Alex (January 3, 2012). "Exclaim!'s 20 Most Anticipated Canadian Albums of 2012". Exclaim! . Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  2. ↑ Craig Norris (host) (June 9, 2012). "If YOU compiled the Polaris Music Prize long list – Chart #297". R3-30. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on March 1, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  3. 1 2 Trumbull, Ty (February 22, 2012). "Band of the Week: The Elwins". PostCity.com. Post City Magazines. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
  4. 1 2 Taroy, Adrian (June 14, 2011). "NXNE 2011 Preview: The Elwins". blogTO. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
  5. ↑ Hudson, Alex (February 13, 2012). "The Elwins 'And I Thank You' (album stream)". Exclaim! . Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  6. 1 2 Lewis, Carly (February 22, 2012). "The Elwins: And I Thank You". Exclaim! . Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  7. ↑ Lizzard, James (February 24, 2012). "The Elwins: And I Thank You". Cashbox Canada. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
  8. 1 2 3 Korn, Daniel (February 23, 2012). "The Elwins – "And I Thank You" Review". Cadence Canada. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  9. ↑ Kelley, Ken (February 23, 2012). "The Elwins – And I Thank You (Independent)". The MusicNerd Chronicles. Retrieved February 28, 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  10. ↑ Duffy, Rob (February 15, 2012). "The Elwins: And I Thank You". The Grid . Archived from the original on April 24, 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
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