pop*eye...Woodpigeon

A Masterpiece of orchestral pop

Group whistling, tambourine, handclapping, fey longing, winged eyeliner, and corduroy blazers conspire to create music as glittery and piquantly morose as fresh snow on sidewalks under a full moon.

“Like Calgary’s answer to Sufjan Stevens and his travelling symphonic circus, prairie collective Woodpigeon have a penchant for long-winded song titles (Home As A Romanticized Concept Where Everyone Loves You Always And Forever) and jingly, ramshackle chamber-folk concoctions driven by banjo, glockenspiel, a sprawling choir and quivering male vocals. Though there are sonic similarities, the writing on Songbook suggests repressed longing and romantic fantasies rather than Stevens’s hyper-detailed short story narratives, but Mark Hamilton’s delightfully whimsical metaphors and imagery (a love song about ninjas! Superheroes sacrificing good deeds for love!) work perfectly in tandem with Woodpigeon’s shimmery songs. And though the music works well in watercolour shades, when the loose-knit ensemble puts some muscle into rocking out, as on the driving Jonathan Ashworth Rollercoaster, they make a strong case for why Woodpigeon might be the next great Canadian breakout band. NNNN CRITIC’S PIC — SARAH LISS, EYE MAGAZINE, TORONTO”

Woodpigeon - Treasury Library Canada (2008)

“When I was growing up, I was fascinated by those Treasury Libraries that parents would collect for their kids via mail-order or down at the supermarket when doing the weekly shopping. Things like Encyclopedia Canadiana and those Walt Disney Presents hardcovers. But for some reason, these books, once they arrived in the post or out of the shopping bag, just collected dust on the shelf. You wanted the full set as a kid, naturally, but it wasn’t until I grew up that I started pulling them down and flipping through, reading about the best Canadian inventions and dressing habits of the Incas.

During the recording of our last record Songbook, and our next record Die Stadt Muzikanten, the songs of Treasury Library Canada built up, collecting dust on the shelf, occasionally making their way down for the band to play through and eventually record with Arran Fisher in his basement, my garage, and at the Cantos Music Foundation using their treasure trove of vintage keyboards and reverb-y stairwell. We’re keeping this one close to our hearts – self-released and self-made from scratch. We hope you like listening to it as much as we liked making it.” – Mark Hamilton of Woodpigeon

“Much like Songbook before it, Woodpigeon's new full-length is a masterpiece of orchestral pop. They’ll have to not only settle for being Canada's best-kept secret, but also – with the release of Treasury Library Canada – a best-kept secret who have released two flawless masterpieces.” – I(Heart)Music

Woodpigeon is touring the UK (with Calexico) and Germany this September and October, returning to Canada to support Iron & Wine’s solo prairie dates.

FINALLY!!