PS I Love You
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Arcade Fire, Les Savy Fav, Wavves
Paul Saulnier is the latest in a long, proud line of yelpers that includes venerable frontmen like David Byrne, Frank Black, Win Butler and Pere Ubu’s David Thomas. The PS I Love You leader’s vocals and excitable instrumental work, coupled with Benjamin Nelson’s pummeling drums, has burst out of Canada in the form of an auspicious indie rock debut, Meet Me at the Muster Station.
PS I Love You’s music is revved-up, boisterous and earnest—and just a little bit desperate. Principles Saulnier and Nelson have spent the last half decade refining their potent home-brewed noise pop. Along the way they’ve proven yet again that the Great White North has plenty to export to the rest of the world in the realm of rock.
The duo coalesced when Saulnier wisely decided he needed a human force to up the rhythm ante. Until then he’d been augmenting his guitar/Casio/organ compositions with keyboard percussion. The addition of Nelson added the requisite tub-thumping muscle to cut through the dense forest of distorto-fuzz and caterwauls. You might not always be able to discern what Saulnier is shouting about over the din, but you can certainly feel it.
Meet Me at the Muster Station is steeped in vintage college rock: “Get Over” draws on the propulsive drive of The Jesus and Mary Chain; “Facelove” follows the angst of Archers of Loaf; “Breadends” channels early Dinosaur Jr.; “Butterflies and Boners”—yes, “Butterflies and Boners”—pays homage to megalithic amp abusers like Sonic Youth.
PS I Love You has found the perfect home on Toronto’s Paper Bag Records, purveyors of quality sounds including those from Born Ruffians and The Rural Alberta Advantage.
This is very very good. Me likey.
This makes me want to move to Canada…