Album Review: Current Swell - Long Time Ago

The Canadian indie pop and rock scenes are littered with great brands – hell, 'indie' can hardly be mentioned with Arcade Fire or Broken Social Scene being brought up (with good reason) – and on their fourth album, Current Swell certainly do their damnedest to be worthy of their countrymen and women's living legacy.

Folk, roots, blues, rock and, oddly, bluegrass are all given the 'indie singer-songwriter' treatment on Long Time Ago. Acoustic guitars, rollicking rhythm sections and the occasional banjo melody or synth groove are all given a sensible, earthy and unobtrusive production aesthetic that drives home the genuine nature of the music. From the opening title track, heavy on nostalgia and laid-back instrumentation, the relaxed frame is set. Music such as this so often errs close to the ironic, it's a real pleasure to hear honest and heartfelt music delivered without pretence, even if several lyrical couplets come across as a touch trite.

Frontman Scott Stanton's vocals, part John Butler part Marcus Mumford, carry everything along in an inoffensive tone. Combined with the intermittent and wholly pleasant moments of rather beautiful vocal harmonisation, such on highlights Too Cold and inauspicious country tune I Want a Bird, the record manages to sound immediate and living despite its peaceful pace.

There's very little wrong with Long Time Ago, but it is an incredibly safe record. The only risks the band take are their forays into deeper bluegrass and country territory, which are unfortunately less than successful. This record will please most with an ear for indie and acoustic pop, but only the most diehard would call the album essential.