Album Review: Canada Water - One Shot Farewell EP

Bournemouth quintet Canada Water have been doing quite well for themselves recently, coming off the back of tour slots supporting the likes of Army Of Freshmen and Kris Roe, they went into the studio to record their debut four track EP ‘One Shot Farewell’ which saw a release in January ’09. Described by the band as ”An account of life between starting out with this band and where we are now, all with such determination that this time around we’re working day and night to move forward.” It would certainly be interesting to see what type of sound Canada Water were offering.

EP opener ‘Departures’ is a fairly lethargic affair, the band seem almost desperate to bring across an energy and atmosphere but the chord and vocal structure seem laboured and in all honesty a bit boring. The initial dual vocals were interesting, and the production seems spot on but all in all it’s a very forgettable song, not ideal when trying to make an impression.

Next up is ‘Femme Fetale’ the vocal structure is a little more interesting this time, variation is always welcomed and as well as the dual vocals we’re also given some gang vocals, which as we know is always good. However, this song almost falls in the same way as ‘Departures’ by becoming a bit too forgettable, being saved only by an explosive outro that you never really see coming.

‘Graduate By Getting By’ is a marked improvement, it’s fast paced and catchy with a great melody. The keyboard makes a welcome return after brief previous outings offering a different take on the music on offer so far. The song is generally just pleasant to listen too, but that’s as good as it gets. There is no instant impression, nothing to make me stand up and take notice and it’s a shame, because the musicianship throughout the EP has been faultless with glimpses of song writing ability on show.

‘It’s Petty Theft Bessie’ is left to close the EP to try and leave an impression, and in all honestly it does have a closing quality about it, unfortunately it returns to the form of the first two songs, it’s just too generic and forgettable, it does have, again, a good last minute or so that outshines the entire EP but to put into perspective, a little known band by the name of Four Year Strong are doing what this band are attempting to do, with a lot more finesse and style.

While it initially might seem unfair to compare these two bands, in order to aspire to make it you have to make yourself stand out, but apart from the last minute of the last song ‘One Shot Farewell’ doesn’t really offer anything other than your standard pop/punk songs that are littering the music scene today.

2.5/5

'One Shot Farewell EP' by Canada Water is self-released on January 11th 2010.

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Chris Marshman