Most Serene Republic preview

The Most Serene Republic
Beat Kitchen, Chicago
Saturday, December 8, 2007

As the first band signed to Canadian label Arts & Crafts not associated in any way with Broken Social Scene or the many side projects of its varied roster of members, The Most Serene Republic, nevertheless, basks in the afterglow of its labelmates and shrinks the distance between one band’s starting point and another’s finish line.

On its latest release, Population, the seven-piece collective from Milton, Ontario, creates an expansive sonic landscape of horns, wind instruments, and bombastic percussion. The arty interludes mask the dark lyrics present within the album’s 10 word-driven tracks. Three songs forgo lyrical dressing (“Humble Peasants,” “A Mix Of Sun And Cloud,” and “Agenbite Of Inwit”), but continue to mine for cloudy, imperfect gems in the same vein to great effect.

And the art-student background of founders Ryan Lenssen (keyboards) and Adrian Jewett (vocals) firmly stakes a front and center spot throughout the album’s slightly-under-an-hour running time. With lyrics that could be classified more as free verse poetry than lyrics, the band never fails to exercise listeners’ brains. It takes work to appreciate lyrics like “Dearest public past/I’m chanced in primal mass/And to you I write vistas for your life/Adverse troubled child.” Fortunately, it takes less brain power to get caught up in the sweeping splendor of “Present Future End.”

Mock Orange and Blueblood open.

— Janine Schaults

Click here to stream Population.

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly