The Soft Province - S/T (Three Ring)

The debut from Jace Lasek’s side project, The Soft Province, is less dense and expansive than the output of his main band, the great Besnard Lakes. Along with longtime collaborator and original Besnard Lake, Mike Gardiner, they still have plenty of things going on sonically but the soundscape is far stripped down compared to what the Lakes normally do. The songs themselves are more straight ahead and faster as well. For those who maybe think that the Lakes are too sprawling, this is more up their alley. The album starts off promising with the single, “I See Two Eyes”, an excellent track that showcases Lasek’s patented falsetto. We then segue into some fun-sounding indie pop on “Lazy Minds Die” which crescendos with more of the frontman’s wail. After the opening, the real highlight here for me is “One Was A Lie”, which can be downloaded from the Three Ring Records site. That track after the second half of its predecessor, “In A Some See No One Club”, really gives the second half of the album its momentum. So, if you’re like me, and love the Besnard Lakes, you really should check out the latest from the band’s architect.