Plants and Animals

It’s not easy to label the kind of music Plants and Animals make, but it’s easy for it to feel instantly familiar. Maybe that’s because they record to tape, and their records sound like they could have been made in 1972. But for all their analog warmth, it’s also impossible to deny how raw and recent the songs sound, and harder still to find anything else that sounds quite the same.

Anyone who took their debut, Parc Avenue, into their home and hearts probably already knows this. Since that album was released in early 2008 the band has played over 100 shows, circling the Western world more than once, including appearances at the Pitchfork Festival in Chicago, Primavera in Barcelona, Central Park Summer Stage with the National, and even one night in Columbus opening for Gnarls Barkley, after Danger Mouse discovered Parc Avenue and invited them out. But regardless of where it happened, anyone who has seen the three of them perform live knows that their big sound isn’t some kind of studio wizardry.

Plants and Animals are Warren C. Spicer, Matthew ‘the Woodman’ Woodley, and Nicolas Basque, the product of a musical three-way between two boyhood friends from Canada’s East Coast, and a French-Canadian. As their name suggests, the band has been a creature of evolution from the start. Its first incarnation was entirely instrumental, with loose song structures that built sound around themes and came out like epic folk music. By the time Parc Avenue was complete, Warren was singing and some of the songs were even under four minutes.

The only thing that has really remained constant from the beginning is the attention paid to detail in the recording process—whether it be editing tape with razor blades, or spending a whole day micing the drums.

Plants and Animals latest offering, La La Land, is louder, and tougher, but also showcases them their smoothest and most cohesive to-date. Inspired by a rediscovery of electric guitars, amplification and fuzz pedals, it takes us up and away from Parc Avenue’s Montreal-in-the-summer vibe, and out into the rock n’ roll ether. The album was recorded at the band’s home-base studio in Montreal, The Treatment Room, and at Studio La Frette outside Paris, a brokedown old mansion filled with vintage gear and a killer board in the cellar instead of wine.

Though plenty of wine went into the album. As Warren puts it, “the Paris stuff is like a nice Bordeaux and the Montreal stuff is more like a baked potato. Sessions in Paris ended by 10pm, sessions in Montreal by 6am.” Rum and cokes inspired the initial Treatment Room sessions in late 2008. The album’s first track, “Tom Cruz,” eventually came out of these late nights. As the Woodman tells it, “it was December, pre-Christmas, so we fuelled the session with rum and cokes. They made us feel like Tom Cruise. It gave us killer smiles and made our enemies wither.”

Ultimately it’s this sense of hilarious confidence that currently characterizes Plants and Animals, and also gives La La Land its cohesion. The Woodman’s drums sound bigger and groovier, Nic colours the album with extra guitars and keyboards like a mad painter, and Warren’s vocals have taken even more ambitious strides.

In many ways La La Land is just as eclectic as Parc Avenue, from California coast vibes to Montreal winters and Spanish trains. But there’s something more mature holding it all together now. As they might say in the movies, La La Land isn’t a place—it’s a state of mind. Plants and Animals have never been a band with much interest in posturing or unnecessary theatrics, but on La La Land the curtain isn’t just pulled back, it’s gone entirely.

Plants and Animals announce US tour, new single/video

Plants and Animals have just announced their most exhaustive North American tour to-date, with the addition of over 20 US dates (and packed SXSW schedule) to their already announced Canadian itinerary. They'll be heading down to Brooklyn next week for a sneak-peak, opening for Broken Bells on March 10th, before their CMW appearances in Toronto. You can see the full list of shows here.

The band has also released a new video for another song from La La Land, entitled The Mama Papa. Directed by Sinbad Richardson, inspired by Frederico Fellini, and starring P&A, and Joe Cobden.

Plants and Animals announce Canadian Tour in support of La La Land

More news today in Plants and Animals land, as the band has announced Canadian dates in support of their forthcoming album, La La Land, which we announced back in January. The tour starts April 21st in Quebec City, and wraps May 5th out in Vancouver. Tickets for the tour go on sale this Friday, February 5 at 10:00 a.m. (dates are listed below, with more details in the shows section). The band will also be showcasing the new material during a series of performances in March at both CMW in Toronto and at SXSW in Austin, Texas. For fans outside Canada, fear not, there's lots more where this came from; stay tuned.

La La Land live:

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Plants and Animals announce new album, La La Land

Very exciting day here at Secret City, as we're pleased to announced the release of Plants and Animals second full-length record, La La Land, due out in North America on April 20th. And if you're already familiar with their debut, Parc Avenue, you know why this is a big deal. And let us be the first to say this album is bigger, smoother, tougher and tighter than the last one. The La La Land album page has a whole lot more to say, but more importantly, also has the first sneak listen—a little warm-up number called "Tom Cruz" to get you through the cold months until the rest of it drops...

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Plants and Animals on Blogothèque's Concerts à Emporter

Plants and Animals are featured on Blogothèque today, with three fabulous Concerts à Emporter sending off songs from Parc Avenue and the with/avec EP. These were recorded at the magical La Frette studio just outside Paris back in May while the band was recording their new album. The record is almost wrapped. And they'll be back in Europe in October for a bunch of dates we'll be announcing soon. In the meantime, check out the great Take Away shows... And if you're in Ontario or Quebec, Peterborough and Wakefield are host to two pretty intimate shows this Labour Day weekend. These will likely be the last Canadian dates for sometime!

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Plants and Animals nominated for two JUNO Awards

Plants and Animals have been nominated for two JUNO awards. One for Alternative Album of the Year (for Parc Avenue), and the other for New Group of the Year. The awards will take place March 29 in Vancouver. Go P&A!

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Stranger Dance - Top Albums of 2008

"Parc Avenue is an exuberant collection of songs that hold up as an album — a novelty in 2008 — with a cohesive feel, gracefully stretched across a wide range of moods. ... Ultimately, the album exudes warmth and passion, and begs for repeated listens."

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Radio Free Canuckistan Polaris preview

"the end result crafts a unique sound that not only stakes its place in a continuum the began with Neil Young and The Band, but forges their own sound and places Plants and Animals heads and shoulders above any other ensemble likely to be tagged a 'jam band.'"

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Plants and Animals fall tour underway

After a packed sold-out kickstart last week at the Horseshoe in Toronto (check out a quick review and some great pics here), Plants and Animals fall tour begins in earnest tonight in Wakefield. To celebrate, Parc Avenue is going for cheap at the iTunes store as Album of the Week. If you don't have it already, pick it up!

The band will be making a short stop in Toronto over the weekend for Monday's Polaris Prize gala. Secret City wants to wish them the best of luck, and is sorry that they've had to answer so many questions about the young label's history with the even younger prize. Such is the territory!

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Toronto show, photos by Pete Nema

"Last Thursday night with Plants and Animals and Ruby Coast was one of the best shows I've been to this year so far."

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Plants and Animals on Pitchfork.TV

When Plants and Animals were down in New York earlier this summer for a show at the Mercury Lounge, they spent an afternoon on a rooftop in Manhattan playin' some tunes. If you haven't checked out Pitchfork.Tv's rad show "Don't Look Down," now's your chance ... P&A are the featured band today, with live performances of Faerie Dance, Bye Bye, New Kind of Love and Lola Who?

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