Erik Lind & The Orchard

Cinematic orchestral folk pop from Montreal’s Erik Lind and the Orchard, with lyrical subjects spanning from Canadian winters and relationships built on love and hate. Check out the wistful and poigant “Black Eyed Heart” and “Great White North,” truly the first love songs to a Canadian winter I have ever heard in my life. - Don't Need No Melody

Un jeudi soir parmi tant d’autres, et c’est encore à la fameuse Casa del Popolo que mes pas me portent. La Casa si petite, si… bruyante aussi. On ne peut pas dire que ce soit la place la plus tranquille pour tenter d’écouter religieusement un groupe. Qu’à cela ne tienne, ça n’empêche pas de faire de belles découvertes (ou parfois étranges aussi). Erik Lind et son verger ont donc foulé les planches noires usées de la petite scène, sans prétention, avec générosité et… un nouveau claviériste !

Erik Lind & the Orchard est de ses groupes comme on en entend beaucoup sur la scène locale : un mélange de pop-folk-rock indie, toujours facile à écouter, belles mélodies en tête, musiciens expérimentés, ambiance joviale, humilité et plaisir de jouer. Tout cela est palpable donc difficile de passer un mauvais moment en leur compagnie. Comme je dis souvent, c’est peut-être simple mais… il fallait y penser. Faire de la musique qui naturellement coule dans les oreilles sans froisser, mais qui donne le goût de réécouter en boucles le tout, sans se rendre compte que le compteur, justement, indique que cela fait 38 fois que vous écoutez les six titres du EP Great White North. Ce dernier est un véritable petit bijou, et à l’image de la pochette, Erik Lind & the Orchard a plus à offrir que la partie émergée de l’iceberg. Le côté parfois sombre des paroles et toujours relevé par une musique plus « up la vie » mais attention, tout n’est pas noir ou blanc, il y a beaucoup de nuances et de zones de gris. On appréciera aussi l’harmonie des voix d’Erik et de Lisa Dee Perusse (qui a la guitare basse la plus immense que je n’ai jamais vu ! Une six cordes !). Vous voulez faire un doux cadeau de Noël à un ami, parlez-lui du groupe, on aurait juste envie que la bonne nouvelle se répande comme une trainée de flocons blancs ! - neuf bulles dans le ciel

After just a few songs into the warm and bristling set by Montreal-based four-piece Erik Lind & the Orchard, it was easy to see why the title of the band's new Great White North EP felt so appropriate. Strains of searching solitude, a determined hope and an interaction with the perceived vastness of one's surroundings were all present in both the sounds and lyrics of songs that ran an emotional gamut, from the invigorating melody and elevating build of "Brick," to the quieter seeking tone of closer "The Kick." The dynamic rhythmic changes of cresting and abating drums that held down the set's ever-shifting pace were topped with swelling and, at times, soaring guitar runs, vibrant bass lines, and spirited two-part harmonies that served as a touching accent to each song's inspired feel. Humble pre-tune quips, the loose fret-board rattle of an acoustic guitar and the indispensable sounds of a tambourine provided the final missing elements for the group's ode to the North Country, wrapping up an impressive showing on a chilly, end-of-winter night that made each song's sentiment feel that much more present. - Exclaim.ca

"Melodies that you can hum along to and lyrics that will touch your brain..." Amanda Putz - CBC Bandwidth -

Erik Lind & The Orchard is a local four-piece outfit that soothes Montrealers (and beyond) with “folk-tinged indie rock” accented by fleeting harmonies and melodic goodness. Starting out as just a solo venture led by none other than Erik Lind himself, 2011 brought three more members into the picture.

We can’t help but listen to the tight-knit group and be reminded of the likes of Wintersleep, Dan Mangan and Great Lake Swimmers, especially present on their debut album, an EP titled Great White North. Capturing the essence of Canada by singing “non-exclusively about Canadian winters, love-hate relationships with one’s hometown and forest fires,” Erik Lind and The Orchard provides easy listening for us all after a long winter’s day.

Released back in September 2012, Great White North came to be through the development and experimentation with Lind’s acoustic originals. The foursome played around in a few recording locations such as Montreal’s Treatment Room Studios and to the confines of guitarist Mikael Tobias’s apartment in Little Italy. The juxtaposition of a big studio sound with intimate, organic homegrown elements, helped to create a well-produced album full of musical variation with dips and peaks throughout each of the six tracks.

Erik Lind Great White North

The quartet describes Great White North as a “concise and tightly produced introduction to Lind’s earnest, bittersweet songwriting,” and damn have they done just that. It’s evident there’s some sure talent present, and genre blending has been catapulted to new heights. The EP starts off with the title track Great White North, which is an easing six minutes of rich vocals, swift acoustics and numerous hooks. In contrast, If We Knew Then is filled with strident guitar and steady hits of the tambourine, proving to be more reminiscent of The Lumineers with a Wintersleep-esque edgy twist.

We then progress onto track three: War Outside. This one is by far my favourite for its overdriven amps and alt-indie feel. If there are any Grizzly Bear or Department of Eagles fans out there, this might be the track for you. Having reached the #1 spot of the R3-30 countdown on CBC Radio 3, War Outside makes us want to tap our toes vigorously because of its subdued yet vibrant acoustic nature.

Our listening moods are altered (for better or worse) with Black Eyed Heart. Similar to a track Bright Eyes might compile, Erik Lind and The Orchard steals our adoration with this one on a more intimate, dark level. This track is immersed in steady percussion, thoughtful, deep-rooted lyrics and floating riffs, while the next track Coming After The Wrong Man seems to be from more of an alt-country origin.

We finish off with The Kick– the last song off of this impressively versatile debut EP. Most similar to Black Eyed Heart, it accentuates flooding, harmonic vocals and a captivating singer-songwriter approach, most prominent on this track of all six.

Overall, Great White North is a gorgeous composition of six uniquely folk-tinged songs hovering around the same theme of just how great Canadian living can be. The four-piece band will continue to share the stage with numerous indie darlings in the future as they have in the past, and I have no problem believing they’ll attract a plethora of new fans in every city they hit up. This is just the beginning for Erik Lind and The Orchard. All we have to do is sit back and watch them “carve out their space in the landscape of emerging Canadian music.” - The Main MTL

Is there anything hotter to men and more empowering to women than a super-cool, female, six-string bass player? We think not. Erik Lind & The Orchard kicked things off to a full house at the Black Sheep Inn last night and noted that it was a “dream come true” to play the iconic venue. People were instantly grooving to their easy pop-rock tunes which featured smooth vocals and lovely harmonies, as well as really nice guitar work by Mikael Tobias. The audience was treated primarily to tracks off their 6-song EP “Great White North” (released Fall 2012) that are reminiscent of ‘Wintersleep’, ‘The Great Lake Swimmers’, and a perhaps a mellower version of ‘Kings of Leon’. We were impressed from start to finish by Erik Lind & The Orchard’s talent and professionalism; these guys (and gal!) are the real deal and we look forward to the release of a full-length album soon! - Label Records

reviewed by Michael Thomas

It’s funny that Erik Lind encourages listeners to enjoy his and his band’s first EP “responsibly or irresponsibly.” One the one hand, the EP has a very clean sound- the acoustic guitars always sound warm, the percussion always just perfectly crisp. On the other hand, some of the song’s EP almost encourage something more than just passive listening- perhaps a bit of stomping or clapping, or maybe chanting.

And though the EP was released at the end of September of this year, it lends itself very well to the current season, and not just because the EP has such a name. It’s another “warm” EP that might make you feel a little bit better should the weather outside be frightful.

The EP opener, which is also the title track, immediately sets the tone for the rest of the EP with an opening lyric of “This winter’s got me in a chokehold.” It makes way for a smooth blend of instrumentals, most notable the acoustic guitars and the percussion.

“If We Knew Then” also feels fully fleshed out, with the regular instruments being helped out by a smattering of horns and later dual vocals. “War Outside” shows that the band doesn’t necessarily always have to be gentle- there are some thrilling parts where the band amps up their folk-rock sound a little further to the “rock” side.

“Black Eyed Heart” is the EP’s standout track, featuring a perfect blend of emotion and buildup. The song builds up a great energy first by using two lines of guitar and eventually adding drums and the repetition of the phrase “we can try.”

“Coming After the Wrong Man” goes a little bit softer, and is perhaps a little reminiscent of Simon & Garfunkel in its sound. There is an emphasis on acoustic guitar and harmonies. Finally, there’s “The Kick,” a shorter song which hints that Erik Lind & the Orchard definitely have more tricks up their sleeve. The mainly acoustic song gains great power as the end leads to stomping, clapping and shouting.

This EP is a great starting point for this Montreal band. The tracks show that the band is willing to get a little loud if they need to, and that’s something I’d definitely like to see a little more of from future recordings.

Great White North EP is available from Bandcamp.

Top Track: “Black Eyed Heart” - Grayowl Point

'Great White North' was included in PhotogMusic Blog's Top 12 EP's of 2012 - PhotogMusic

Le groupe montréalais Erik Lind & The Orchard affirme descendre de la récente vague de rock canadiana. Cette déclaration prend tout son sens à l’écoute de Great White North, leur premier maxi, façonné par les musiques folk et par l’intensité du rock. Le superbe songwriting est meublé par la réalisation sobre et chaleureuse du EP. Si l’on reconnaît des allures de Great Lake Swimmers (The Kick), la proposition est un condensé de folk rock, livré avec des accents country (Coming After The Wrong Man), des tendances indé (Black Eyed Heart) et une démarche roots (If We Knew Then). Soulignons également le travail derrière la magnifique pièce-titre, apaisante et vaporeuse. Erik Lind & The Orchard aurait avantage à abréger ses chansons d’un pont ou deux, mais il s’agit d’un maxi prometteur. - 500khz Blog