Woodpigeon - "For Paolo EP" review

    Awhile ago we gave notice that Woodpigeon would be releasing a new set of songs soon, so if you’ve been waiting with bated breath, don’t worry -  the latest EP from this Calgary band doesn’t disappoint. Kind of like a Canadian Sufjan Stevens or Grizzly Bear, Woodpigeon is a musical collective lead by Mark Hamilton, who actually claims to be mainly influenced by the Kinks. While I wouldn’t call this rock ‘n’ roll in the vain of “You’ve Really Got Me” (with that memorable riff) or (my personal fav) “A Well Respected Man”, you can get a sense of his appreciation for the storytelling that is a big part of the Kinks’ renown.
    Title track “For Paolo” opens the EP with a simple, pleasant melody that draws you in without going too far out on a limb. Things get more experimental over the course of the 6 song EP, with strings being brought in on “Are You There God? It’s Me, Mark”. And, dare I say it, I can hear a little Elliott Smith in Woodpigeon. The melodies are beautiful, though I’ve had enough with bands and authors ripping off the Judy Blume novel for song titles. There are only so many substitutions for “God” or “Margaret” you can make before it just starts to get lazy. Really, a minor gripe though...
    My one complaint about this selection of songs is the lack of variation. As much as I love the soft humming Elliott Smith was famous for, he still managed to bring different qualities to his songs other than just pleasant melodies and simple rhythms. For the most part, For Paolo suffers from a lack of complexity in it’s arrangements, as one song does kind of seem to be interchangeable with the next. Not that this is altogether unpleasant, it’s just not especially memorable by the time you get to the end of the EP.  One song that does manage to break out of this cycle, a bit anyway, is the darker “One Too Many”. It still features the lilting female background vocals that the other songs do, and the soft “ahh”-ing of Hamilton instead of actual lines of lyrics, but the musicality is different, a little faster, and forces you take notice of it as an individual song rather than just part of a collection. A good song to end on, as the official last track is an acoustic version of the opener, “For Paolo”, and when songs are this soft to begin with, the difference isn’t exactly monumental when you unplug. However, it does put even more emphasis on Hamilton’s vocals, which is never a bad thing.
    Overall, I’m a little hot and cold on this album. It’s definitely a pleasant listening experience, and when Woodpigeon songs pop up on my Itunes I’ll never be pressing skip. However, I don’t know that I’ll be actively searching them out, either, as they are all a bit too similar to really stand out on their own. When Hamilton plays with arrangements, interesting things start to happen, but he seems to be a bit too reliant on his comfort zone. Until he’s ready to leave the pseudo-Smith trappings behind, I fear Woodpigeon will never rise to the creative heights of his idols (the Kinks), or even his contemporaries (Belle and Sebastien, Iron and Wine, etc).