The Rest - Everyone All at Once

By: Karolina Rous

The Rest
Everyone All At Once

(Auteur)

SOUNDS LIKE: I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness meets Interpol, in a more redemptive, uplifting, purely Canadian form.

WHY/WHY NOT: When it comes to atmospheric, dark, subsonic sound that brings corners of light and energy, you'll find it's hard to create great derivatives of previously recorded works. Today, the field's littered with a countless number of bands that have stretched their fingers so taut to reach the brass-ring that bands like Interpol have managed to swing from, it's almost heartbreaking. And yet, almost surprisingly, The Rest are actually contenders.

With their second LP, Everyone All At Once, you'll find a harmonious blend of emotionally wrought lyrics backed by symphonic arrangements that are well paced, emotionally pleading and somehow a cause for uplifting, jubilant redemption. I was taken aback by "Coughing Blood/Fresh Mountain Air". Jesus, slow down kids. I also really got pulled in by "Walk on Water", with its melancholy tone, slow build, and satisfying denouement. Oh, and before I forget, there's "Phonetically, Phonetically", and "Apples & Allergies", which are fantastic.

Holy fuck! Hold the presses! These kids are from Hamilton? Damn, now I'm officially impressed. Ever been through Hamilton? I'm not "fronting," but drive through there, then listen to this album, and it'll crystallize for you what an accomplishment these kids are. (For the record: I grew up in small-town in southern Ontario, three stones from Hamilton, which gives me license to judge.)