Pilate — For All That’s Given, Wasted

Scotland may have Travis and England may have Coldplay, but Canada, thankfully, have Pilate. This Toronto four-piece wield over-the-top songwriting abilities and over this release’s six songs the band lay out enough groundwork to definitely show what they’re capable of. Songs like the plaintiff "Drowning Man" and the mid-tempo "Long Gone" feature beautiful, yet simple chord progressions that make the changes between verse and chorus swirl like drops in a puddle. For All That’s Given, Wasted is powered by the glorious voice and leadership of Todd Clark whose vocal abilities rival both Thom Yorke and Fran Healy for yankin’ at your heartstrings. If there is a God, this won’t end up as one of those "great unheard-of albums." It may be early in the year, but Wasted is one of the best to come down the Canadian pipe so far. This release reads like a painful six-track glance into someone’s head and it works like a charm.