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A sprawling orchestral/electronic band who are as notorious for being from Saskatoon as they are for touring the country in a covertly painted school bus, Carbon Dating Service have their roots in the fertile yet underappreciated Tear Gas recording collective scene, who also issued the exquisite (and little heard) No Birds albums. Carbon Dating Service includes two violists, two trombonists and a harp, and faster than you can say “Joanna Newsomitis,” they win you over with the modesty of their arrangements. Their aims never exceed their grasp, and while it's a big sound, it's never pompous. Polyentendrii opens somewhat underwhelmingly, but then they more than make up for some predictable arrangements with the choral vocals on “Another You” and “Adoptions at the Zoo,” the latter of which is CDS' version of a snappy pop single. There have been other under-washed Canadian bands who lived in school buses before they figured out how to make a living; if these [8] prairie kids can produce something this focused, we should pay attention.
- Eye Weekly
Discography
Polyentendrii* - 2007
Carbon Dating Service** - 2006
*Starbeat Academy Graduation March has been receiving airplay on CBC3 since July 2007.
**Drunk Company has been featured on CBC3 since 2006.
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Bio
As “the funnest [8] person band ever” (Chris Kelly, CBC Radio 3), Saskatoon’s Carbon Dating Service has a lot more going for it than just a clever name. Their ambitious and sprawling self-titled debut, released in June 2006, earned the band a comfortable seat on campus and community radio charts nationwide, while the taste-makers at Fluxblog affectionately described their sound as “layers of warm, gentle instrumentation piled on like blankets”. This cozy atmosphere of triumphant pop symphonies, quiet country gems and raucous club bangers provides a perfect arsenal for doing battle with the shivering winters of their hometown.
One year later, Saskatoon’s spring thaw flooded Carbon Dating Service out of the basement with their sophomore release, Polyentendrii-- an album that bobs on its very own raft built of duct-taped trombones, flugelhorn, harp, viola, synthesizers, thumb piano, banjo and whirligigs. Exploring their backgrounds in classical, jazz, cute things, lo-fi indie rock and Dungeons & Dragons, Carbon Dating Service spent the winter feverishly disassembling and reassembling songs like malfunctioning electronic appliances. The result was eight unforgettable compositions, with loving attention paid to Masterpiece Theatre flourishes, arm-linking choral interludes, catchy baroque canons and the odd snow-melting explosion.
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