Better Weather by the Heavy Blinkers

Believe us when we tell you that this must be heard to be believed!

The songs that make up the blinkers' new album, are twelve sleek and self-contained slices of pop genius.Moving comfortably from orch-pop to country, from r & b to gospel, this one has it all. It's a more stripped down proceeding than their last album, but somehow it comes off as an infinitely more lavish and haunting then anything we thought they were capable of.

REVIEWS:

Uncut Magazine

"Twelve slices of melodic melancholia from Canadian sunshine popsters who occupy emotional ground between Dusty In Memphis and late-period Beach Boys. Better Weather is an album of sophisticated white soul, simply recorded but brimming with ingenious arrangements and complex harmonic blends. A number of the tracks are pure singalong sunshine pop a la their debut album, Hooray For Everything, a largely solo effort recorded by chief Blinker Jason MacIsaac before the band line-up crystalised for last year's eponymous second LP (the latter rated highly in Uncut last year). For their third album, the band expand their palette to allow country, R&B (in the Beach Boys of Wild Honey sense) and gospel influences. Simple piano shuffles are now augmented by big band horn sections (hear 'Baby Smile') or jazz and gospel choirs (to great effect on 'Malmo', an instrumental that sounds like something Dennis Wilson might have done).

Central to the band's refined creative vision is 'I Used To Be A Design', which brazenly splices together contradictory musical styles and eschews traditional song structures. Originally shopped to Dusty Springfield before her untimely death in 1999, we shall never hear what she would have made of it, but it's not as great a loss as it may seem - Ruth Minnikin's interpretation here is dazzling in all its raw and vulnerable beauty. At 34 minutes, Better Weather may be short, but it's emotionally candid and spiritually vast, dealing with the weight of life itself."

- Paul Johnston

Mojo

Sunny orch-pop from snowy Nova Scotia. "From a fact-packed biography we learn that living in Halifax, Nova Scotia, The Heavy Blinkers see and average of 43 days of snow a year. Yet with clever use of brass, pedal steel and pristine orchestration, the Canadian quintet conjure the same blue skies as West Coast idols The Beach Boys or The Carpenters. Multi-layered vocals and parping horns give a swing to the upbeat Far As You Are, while a 24-piece choir and peaceful pedal steel bask ballads like Malmo in perpetual summer. Which isn't to say it's sunshine all the time: for every triumphant Bacharach horn flourish there's sadder soft-pop relection. With it's mournful strings, I Used To Be A Design is tinged with the same melancholy as Surf's Up, but the light always breaks through."

- Jenny Bulley

Magnet

"One person in a thousand might've discovered the giddy first album from Canada's Heavy Blinkers last year. At least that's what I said when congratulating myself on finding the self-titled record at a used shop just hours before compiling a best of 2000 list that had been short in the powdered - sugar department. ... sweet unironic, harmony drenched pop/rock that targets the candy - loving part of the palate without hitting the gag reflex."

- Scott Wilson

Amplifier Magazine

"Last time out, The Heavy Blinkers impressed all serious pop aficionados with their grasp of baroque/chamber pop with their knowing nods in the general direction of Brian Wilson, Phil Spector, Lee Hazelwood and Burt Bacharach. However, if there were a problem with the previous eponymous release, it would be a lack of a distinctive song from amongst the bunch. From a cursory listen, it is clear that the group has addressed this difficulty with Better Weather. Kudos to Greg Fry, Trevor Forbes, Ruth Minnikin and especially the songwriting team of Jason MacIsaac and Andrew Watt for assembling a compelling set of songs that stands up far better than many of their so-called orchestral pop contemporaries (e.g. The High Llamas, Eric Matthews etc). Immediately persuasive is the trio of "Baby Smile," "Far As You Are" and "Heartstrings" - the former two, impossibly jaunty, sonically textural and sunshine-y ambient; the latter, poignantly poised and touchingly fragile with tunes that will resonate long and hard in your mind. Also of note, the moments when Ruth Minnikin steps up to the lead microphone to deliver vocals that evoke Dusty Springfield at her finest - witness the melancholy beauty of "I Used to be a Design" and "Lazy in Love." Add to this the wordless wonder of "Malmo" - resplendent with gospel choir and the celebratory bookends "It's Finally Done" and what you have is a minor classic that lives up to its illustrious inspirations."

-Kevin Mathews

Vendetta

"Nova Scotia's Heavy Blinkers follow up their excellent self-titled debut with another splendid collection of super catchy orchestrated pop gems. Fans of '60s pop icons like The Buckinghams, Zombies, Beach Boys, Left Banke, and Yellow Balloon will absolutely love this. How could anyone not? The combination of Andrew Watt and Ruth Minnikin's first-rate melodies and the group's sunny California pop vibe will bring a smile to anyone's face. From sweet Brian Wilson-flavored pop gems like "Heartstrings" to mesmerizing instrumentals such as "Malmo," Better Weather is an intoxicating exploration of lush pop sounds."

- Ben Vendetta

Dagger

"... this is upbeat, summery pop with horns and strings in the right places and it all sounds so damn happy I love it. The one-two punch of Baby Smile and Far As You Are is unbeatable."

-Tim Hinely

Average Customer Review: