This is my first listen to this wonderful little four-piece country and folk outfit from Toronto. From what I can hear, though, this is significantly better than their debut album. However, I am getting ahead of myself?why listen to Westelaken. Well in general they are doing something I have never quite heard in the country or folk landscape. The easiest way to explain it is with their influences which come in the form of The Talking Heads, Glenn Branca, Swans, Fleet Foxes, Bob Dylan, Mount Eerie, Bill Callahan, and Radiohead. So what does this all mean? Well on first listen this seems like a rather odd collection of folk rock and alternative country tracks with some wild outbursts. However, on more inspection, you can hear the post-punk influence coming through on my of the tracks here. You can hear the no wave influence coming through on the back end of the record. You can feel the storytelling nature of this on the way Jordan signs about his last year as a son and lover. This is an amazing amount of musicianship coming through, that it?s hard to ignore it. Please give it a listen if you want something new in your country/folk.
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