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Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
“There’s a strong challenge in making an interesting instrumental song,” reflects Josh Lindstrom as the drummer sits with his fellow Precious Fathers. “To create something that will keep the listener engaged.” This boundary-testing band has grown accustomed to such trials. They first established themselves with highly ambitious performances at The Blinding Light!! cinema. There, they collaborated with a variety of filmmakers in the daunting task of creating individual cinematic backdrops for each of their songs. On the venue’s closing night in 2003, they ended the evening by delivering a set that left the crowd clamouring for an encore. They declined the invitation and, in fact, haven’t made a public appearance since.”
The reason we stopped playing [live] was because we ended up attempting to record an album,” explains Lindstrom. The initial results were underwhelming. “We recorded eight or nine songs and then trashed them.” A second effort was delayed until they finished construction on a home studio last winter. Months of sessions ultimately culminated in the band’s self-titled debut.
“We kind of build songs,” details guitarist Tim Loewen. “There needs to be some chemistry between the parts.” The interplay between the longtime collaborators is apparent throughout the almost criminally melodic album. Meeting the challenge cited by Lindstrom, the disc is an enthralling listen. It boasts a strong emotional core that resonates compellingly through every track.
A new test is now upon the group. “Over the past couple of years, we’ve become interested in expressing ourselves differently,” explains guitarist Jaret Penner. In a transition that has proven less than seamless, Precious Fathers have introduced lyrics to their music. “It’s hard to avoid a slightly more common structure once you start singing,” notes Loewen with chagrin. “The music sometimes becomes a vehicle for the meaning of the lyrics. That’s not what we want.”
“We’ve been friends for a long time,” adds Lindstrom. “We’re comfortable with writing music together and we understand each other.” Consequently, there exists a collective resolve to balance the concrete nature of lyrics with the mercurial ambiguity inherent in instrumental music.
As Precious Fathers continue their evolutionary climb, there still remains the matter of a CD release show to be played. They’ve recently recalled bassist Paul Goertzen from a “ten year sabbatical” to complete their roster. - Terminal City
Ace chops and good tunes make this more than precious: it is downright marvelous. - Zulu Records
Discography
Precious Fathers - self titled debut.
2004 White Whale Records.
The record has charted across Canada with features at:
CITR radio(vancouver)
CBC radio (canada)
College radio stations (Winnipeg, SFU, Vancouver)
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
The long awaited debut full length from this Vancouver instrumental post-rock shoegazer ensemble, with members linked to other projects such as Destroyer, Loscil, Sparrow, the Battles, and more. Boasting [minutes and seconds] of compositional complexity and mood-shifting instrumental rock with this first outing. Based within the traditional parameters of the trade—electric guitars, synth, bass, drums and the occasional horn—The PF’s have molded a new being. At once subtle, mesmerizing and inspired, the record moves fluidly from the subdued to the sanguine. Turns of melodic phrase draw us in with a physical dimension and quiet reserve to express a delicate beauty and plaintive driving grace, fully formed. Simultaneously somber and hopeful, the songs evince an imagined railroad landscape, painting canvases of prairies, pastures, snowy peaks and rain-slicked, abandoned city streets. Nobly produced with a warmth and thoughtfulness that does full justice to the power and evocative melancholia of the songwriting, the record elicits nostalgia for some imagined past and a future only promised. RIYL: Tristeza, the Beans, Monopot. Secret Three, Tortoise.
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