Categories : Electronica, Rock + Pop.
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Rating: 2.5/5 Reviewer: Andre Guimond |
The Blue Jays, Maple Leafs, Toronto FC and The Cansecos all have something in common other than being semi-sports related Toronto-based groups: they’re all struggling to discover who they are. That’s not to say that any one of them won’t look (or sound) pretty good at times – based purely on talent and potential alone it’s inevitable. Unfortunately for The Cansecos, and probably more unfortunately for Leafs fans, true greatness and consistency tend to elude those who lack a clear understanding and definition of their strengths and limitations, and that definitely seems to be the case on Juices!
There’s a delicate mix of strain and restraint here that works beautifully on down-tempo, drum-heavy and smoothly-flowing tracks like standout ‘Lunar Landing’ and ‘Fog Smoke Steam.’ These songs, along with opener ‘Seen the Sun Rise’ to a lesser degree, show off where The Cansecos really excel. However, when it comes to more upbeat, indie dance club-friendly stuff like ‘Raised by Wolves’ and ‘Nothing New to You,’ pieces that are definitely endearing but don’t hold up to multiple listens, it seems like The Cansecos either don’t know what they’re good at or were a little too eager to please a wide audience. Either way, the result is an overstepping of their own distinct sound rather than an embracing of it.
Before the album gets back on track, the laptop-armed quartet inexplicably abandon all restraint: thus, ‘Rise Up’ and its blasé chorus that encourages listeners to get out and do something, though what they want you to do is unclear, as long as it’s, “until dawn, until dusk / until dawn and on and onâ€. Still, it’s well worth getting past the unmistakable bump in the road to find the gems of the album, if only to hear The Cansecos’ true talent and potential showcased in far too few songs.
