culture
Sound Advice: Till The Morning Shows Her Face To Me by the Gertrudes
The Kingston band's latest LP is an eclectic mix of Canadiana sounds, with a hint of electronica.
Folk rock ensemble the Gertrudes have just released their third album, Till The Morning Shows Her Face To Me, through Apple Crisp Records. The Kingston-based group’s latest release is an engrossing combination of Canadiana and electronic music. Instrumentation includes a mix of traditional folk instruments like the banjo and the fiddle, as well as a cello, a mandolin, and a theremin. The album stands out as a result of this unique instrumentation and clever choices of combinations of instruments and shifting styles. The album is very fun and displays the group’s musical sensibilities through the multitude of genres it explores.
Till The Morning exhibits immense musical versatility. Look no further than the title track for proof: “Derby Girl” starts off sounding like a frenetic Nick Drake, then sounds a bit like a Canadiana Talking Heads with a killer ’90s-alternative-rock chorus, lamenting a breakup with a riot grrl. “Good People” starts up slowly and transitions magically into a completely different ending, like a sonically accelerated Elliott Brood. The social collective element of the band lends a Last Waltz-y feel to tracks like “Carolina.”
Singer Amanda Balsys shines on “Yellow Yard” (streaming above) and “Passage”; her voice is stunning, with a focused, soulful tone. The last track, “Lonely Days,” sung by Annie Clifford, is reminiscent of an early Joni Mitchell single, and it’s a sublime conclusion to the LP. Till The Morning Shows Her Face To Me is relaxing music for an overcast afternoon, like a folk version of the Chemical Brothers. Pick up this album for a fantastic remedy to the winter blues.