PTARMIGAN

Ptarmigan

Prog Folk

3.38 | 31 ratings

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Magnum Vaeltaja
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator

Happy Canada Day everyone! To celebrate, I've decided to review a long lost Canadian gem: the British Columbian one-shot "Ptarmigan".

There's no doubt that the west coast lives by the beat of a different drum from the rest of North America; the Vancouver SkyTrain, for example has signs that direct passengers to the "way out", as opposed to the "exit". So there's some important cultural context to be considered in how this album came about. "Ptarmigan" is a roots-heavy mix of folk, jazz and psychedelic styles. The album is very loosely structured, with a lot of sparse jamming, and the mood evoked is akin to a damp, overcast afternoon in a mountainous northern rainforest, overlooking a vast fjord. If you ever google streetview the town of Prince Rupert, that's a pretty good visual analog for the sounds you'll hear, though "Ptarmigan" is very primordial in its spirit, hinting more heavily at scenes of nature.

The performances, both vocal and instrumental, are fine. There's nothing overtly offensive on the record, though some of the vocal harmonies can brim with eastern influences and may sound odd to certain ears. My main problem with the album is that the pace is a bit slow for me, even given the inspiration. The first side mostly falls flat but the ending piece, "Coquihala", an extended jazzy escapade with some of the more active percussion on the album, is quite good.

"Ptarmigan" straddles the range between 2 and 3 stars, having some fine moments but nothing spectacular. In all, I give this remote Canadian landscape 2 stars, not because it's of poor quality, but because I feel that the appeal would be limited to a particular sort of listener. A fine recommendation for those looking for some meditative listening.

Magnum Vaeltaja | 2/5 | 2016-7-1

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