Fleece - Scavenger

Self released, 2015

Full disclosure: Matthew Rogers, vocalist and keyboardist for Fleece, is a current DJ at CJLO. The album was recorded at CJLO's "The Oven" studio by our Production Director Patrick McDowell. So, as Omar our head music director so rightly put it "this is a family affair".

The moment you hit play on Scavenger, the debut album by Montreal's Fleece, and hear those first few curled guitar notes, you realize you're being drawn into a haze, a cloudy vapored world. While the band's environment is made up of different musical influences like garage rock, jazz, and blues, it's primarily structured around a psych-rock experience. The musical backdrop allows you to leisurely sway through the album.

The first two tracks set the tone for the album. "Alien" offers up a misty psychedelic experience with waves of sound. Lyrics such as "relax your mind open your eyes so the aliens will take control" add pictures to that experience. "Wake and Bake", offers a slightly grittier sound, but the same hazy feel as the refrain "who fucking cares" leads us to its conclusion. The tempo for both tracks is slow and measured, the lyrics expressed as if in confession. These opening tracks almost seem to be bookends to a night chalked full of psilocybin-induced experiences.

With "Demanding" and "Gabe's Song", the band stretches and shows off its musical range. The addition of horn arrangements and jazz elements to the album add layers of complexity that forces the listener to perk up and pay attention. These are two of the more musically adventurous tracks found on the album. "Narcozep" leads us out with a steady groove and watery effects-laden vocals.

While the vocals can at times be thin, the strength of this album lies in the musical atmosphere the band cultivates. There is a dreamy quality to the LP expressed through the production, the band's use of effects and in the slow deliberate way in which the tracks come at you. However, don't mistake this for a lack of energy, because there is plenty throughout the album. Fleece certainly opens the door with Scavenger.

--Fredy M. Iuni hosts Hiway 1, Mondays at 7:00 pm on CJLO.