Spiral Beach — Ball

I generally really enjoy Robert Rodriguez films. His hyper-stylized cartoonish violence appeals to the giant nerd in me. Toronto-based quartet Spiral Beach could easily soundtrack a latter-year film student's ode to Sin City or Planet Terror. Hotly tipped and much beloved by the blogosphere, the band's art rock with a pop flair evokes the same saturated colour palette favoured by Rodriguez. Things seems a bit scattered, though, and Sprial Beach tend to lose sight of where they're headed, if it was ever clear. But damn if they don't have a good time in the process. Vocal duties are traded off between keyboardist Maddy Wilde, whose soft-around-the-edges harmonies play foil to guitarist Airick Woodland's crazed yelp. With this short record of compact tracks that rarely squeak over the three-minute mark, Spiral Beach have all but mastered the controlled explosion of ransacked guitars and syncopated drums. It's a harrowing good time if nothing else.

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