Sell Control For Life's Speed

That's the title of the new album by a Canadian band, Pilate. If you haven't heard of them, wait about two months. They'll be everywhere. They're not going to go U2 or 50 Cent huge, but they're certainly going to be noticeable.

My drummer, Alex, and I were talking the other day about how few albums get us excited about music anymore. Nevermind by Nirvana, Ten by Pearl Jam, Appetite for Destruction by Guns 'N' Roses, The Joshua Tree by U2, August & Everything After by the Counting Crows - all these albums used to make me feel something. Be it rage, elation, profound sadness or just kinetic with the need to take action - these records got me excited.

Of course that's going to change with age. It's inevitable. Our priorities change and so do our responses to any kind of provocation. But these days, I know a good record when I hear it because it makes me want to make music. It makes me want to stand up and say something. Well, Pilate has made a really good record, because Sell Control For Life's Speed makes me want to write a bigger, badder sequel to Ode to Joy.

These cats took more than two years to record their sophomore record (their first album was a lovely little gem called 'Caught by the Window' – they also have a rare, rare indie EP called For All That’s Given Wasted which showcases their promising beginnings.) And it was well worth the wait. They went back to Joe Carvalho – who produced the first record – and the relationship, like the music, has obviously matured. They clearly made exactly the album they wanted to make. The songs are beautifully crafted and the production is clear, lush and expansive. And the music...the music is full of hope and fear and anger and confusion and everything that's missing from the formulaic songwriting that dominates our candy-coated, look-good-sing-later, Idol perfect radio waves. Fuck that. Music shouldn't be perfect. American Idol takes the soul out of music. Yes, those people have beautiful voices. But unless they kick at the edges of the cookie cutter they've chosen to sleep in, they can call it their musical coffin as well. Music needs soul and edge and some roughness. Pilate has all that. Technique and feeling. Raw emotion and controlled execution.

It is incredibly hard to write a second record. On your first album, you have all the experience of your life, and the songs you’ve ever written and you fling them onto the audio canvas. And if people decide it speaks to them, you’re expected to better your own life experience and dazzle the world. So many bands have failed here. But not Pilate. They have bettered themselves and they have bettered Canadian music.

They do walk the fine line between Radiohead and Coldplay, but hey – everybody sounds like somebody else. And this is a band that has embraced their niche and damned the consequences. You have to respect that kind of nonchalance. Particularly when it’s tempered with such an emotional record. All of the performances are stunning, but it’s the work of lead singer, Todd Clark, that lifts the band and pulls you in. With a huge vocal range – that he explores thoroughly – and an emotive, warm and slightly ragged voice, he succeeds at doing exactly what a front man should do; he connects.There are no stand-out songs, because it's so, so consistent. There are moments in every song that make your heart swell or your stomach flutter or your eyes water. I've listened to it about 9 times now. There's not a weak link. There aren’t two radio singles and nine filler tunes. This is blood, sweat, tears and love from the haunting, opening chords of 'Knife Grey Sea' to the soaring, sailing choir at the end of 'Into the West.' And here's the other kicker. It's $11.99 (plus applicable taxes, of course). For just over 53 minutes of incredible music. Smart. They've also just finished a six date tour playing tiny clubs around Canada. They gave tickets away free with the album. Smarter. And they're coming back next month playing much bigger clubs in the same cities and a few others. Someone is clearly thinking here. Create the buzz, give the die-hards the intimate show and then come back and hope to move the masses. Smart, smart, smart. These guys are doing everything right and I hope they get all the success they deserve. If you have $13.83 to spare, help them make it happen. These guys may help save music.