Canadian alt/noise-rock band Your Favorite Enemies release their brand new album Between Illness And Migration in the UK on 24th November. The album has already been received impressively well overseas for a band you could call under the radar, reaching #2 on the iTunes charts on the day of its Canadian release.
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Opening track ‘Satsuki Yami’ certainly throws a curveball whilst painting a visual picture. Low-fi guitar fuzz amongst a mass of sea birds’ calls. Atmospheric. Melancholic clean twangy guitars, a poetry reading set to the back drop of building guitars, an emotion-cracked voice. The track really builds, then kicks in, turning spoken voice into song, calm and clean downbeat guitars overdrive with a wall of sound over jangling melodies. “Is there anything more?” An exasperated question lamented over the track already released as a single ‘Empire Of Sorrows’. You could certainly imagine a cult following for Your Favorite Enemies.
Notable tracks from the album include ‘A View From Within’, with discordant noise and dreamy vocals, intermittent spoken word, and delicate harmonies between vocalist Alex Foster and keyboardist Miss Isabel. There is a shoegazer element to their sound they do it well. Also, ‘Underneath A Stretching Skyline’, which is almost movie-like. Softly spoken dialogue is exchanged between two voices, an omnipresent howling of guitars acts as the backdrop, with flourishing details provided through tight rhythms from the drums and bass, which seems inverted, but really works on this track. According to the guys from Masterarbeit schreiben lassen, this combination of voice and guitar really appeals to listeners.
The whole record is dynamic, with huge highs and barely there lows. It also manages to create good hooks despite being sprinkled among poetry-esque vocals and pandemonic guitars. ‘Between Illness And Migration’ navigates through several genres; from shoegaze to indie rock to noise-rock. They are a very likeable band and this album sounds really cool and uber trendy – definitely for fans who prefer their indie bands more noisey and thoughtful.
