Last Minute Plans: Plants and Animals at Lincoln Hall

By Lizz Kannenberg in Arts & Entertainment on May 15, 2010 6:45PM

There's no dearth of eclectic talent from across the northern border, so standing apart from the indie sameness may be as much of a task in Canada as it is in Williamsburg. With their 2008 debut Parc Avenue, Montreal's Plants and Animals put a tentative stake in the psychedelic folk rock mountain built by Animal Collective and My Morning Jacket but never garnered the recognition they deserved as a powerful live band. It's too bad so many music fans missed Parc Avenue, because the trio's follow up, La La Land, probably won't turn their attention away from from the plethora of excellent records already released this year.

It's not that La La Land is off putting - there are shimmery guitars and muscular, gritty angles to the beefed up sound - it's just a hard pill to swallow for those of us who fell for the more introspective, enveloping harmonies and haunting swirl of its predecessor. Nonetheless, there are moments of ethereal brilliance in new tracks like "Undone Melody" and "Game Show" that recall the stark beauty and grandiose harmonies that the band built its following on.

We regrettably missed Plants and Animals at SXSW this year but heard from several reliable sources that the band's crushingly beautiful melodies and stunning harmonies are still the crux of its live show. Given the fantastic sound we've experienced every time we've been to Lincoln Hall, something special might be going down tonight.

Plants and Animals play Lincoln Hall tonight with Elliot Brood; 10 p.m.; $12; 21+