Karkwa is an example of a band that I most likely would have never listened to before if they were not nominated for the Polaris prize. Unfortunately, francophone bands rarely get any coverage from the anglophone music community. I made a couple trips to Quebec this summer, and each trip I made sure to visit the francophone section of music stores which led to the purchase of two fantastic albums, Karkwa – Les Chemins De Verre and Marie-Pierre Arthur’s self titled album. Although my french is very limited, I find both these albums very enjoyable. The Karkwa album contains many of the elements you would want in an indie folk/rock album. The vocals sound like Bon Iver meets Patrick Watson (who makes a guest appearance on this album). The guitar sounds raw and contains a heavy dose of reverb. In fact this whole album sounds very raw which is not surprising considering the way it was recorded without any preproduction in an effort to keep an organic sound in a spontaneous way. Even if this album does not win the Polaris Music Prize, the exposure they have received from the English music media has no doubt won over the hearts of Canadian indie music lovers.
Key Tracks: Le Pyromane, Marie Tu Pleures, Les Chemins de Verre
