Brasstronaut Climb Mt. Chimaera

It seems only appropriate that during the Olympics I review at least one band from Vancouver, British Columbia. I mean, after all, we are carrying them on our network. With that being said, allow me to introduce Brasstronaut from the rain soaked west coast of Canada. Since forming in 2007, the band has confounded critics and fans alike with their inability to stay in any one genre for too long. A fantastic dilemma to be plagued with, their debut album Mt. Chimaera, presents the band as a pigeon hole defying unit that uses it's ability to play just about anything as a strength.

Mt. Chimaera is a strange sort of record that teeters on the line between indie rock, klezmer, jazz, and jam band stuff. It's melodic, mysterious, and of course features lots and lots of brass; you can't really be named Brasstronaut and NOT have that. With horns ablaze and melodies falling like the BC rain in an X-File, Brasstronaut have recorded the best Herb Albert and Tijuana Brass album never recorded. While Mt. Chimaera obviously has vocals and occasionally is anything but happy, much like the Tijuana Brass, a vast majority of the album puts horns of some sort on center stage. Almost like an old soul album, or an easy listening record Brasstronaut rely on their shiny instrumental friends to lead the way rather than using guitars to carry the songs to pop heaven.

Brasstronaut do a good job of allowing the horns to take the lead and the results are songs that have more soul than rock and roll and that's quite honestly like about this record. Even at their most downtrodden, horns, strings, and even piano chime in to lighten the mood and lift your spirits. In listening to Mt. Chimaera it's almost like listening to a metaphorical day in the life of Vancouver. It might start out grey and grim with rain, but you know at some point the sun will shine and things will get better. From the subtle trumpet on "Ravan," to the drawn out piano of, "Hearts Trompet," Mt. Chimaera is an entertaining and dynamic record that's as diverse as the field of Olympics competitors competing in their hometown.