They made Crystal Castles possible, and they’ve been key to ensuring the survival of the New Pornographers. On the downside, they’re responsible for Nickelback and the Alberta Tar Sands Project (sadly, not a band). The Government of Canada has played an admirable role in making resources available to bands over the past decade; it appears that we have them to thank for Low Level Flight as well. “Thank” may not be the right word though. I suppose it’s music a government could love, downright political in the opposite sense to Rage Against the Machine et al. Much like modern politicians, Low Level Flight seem to stand for nothing more than a general identification with a few amorphous organising principles, in this case, pop-guitar indie and vaguely anguished vocals recalling their (slightly) more substantial countrymen, Our Lady Peace. Nowhere near as much life in ‘Through These Walls’ as in any of OLP’s uneven releases, all the songs rely on virtually identical intervallic riffs running from low to high notes. Vocals are nothing more than the sum of effects processing. The whole album has more sheen than an Estavez family reunion. Songs like ‘Tsk Tsk’ purport to menace but the Monkees’ handlers were responsible for more scabrous lyrics (viz ‘Not Your Stepping Stone’). The title track has a few moments, almost feeling like it wasn’t written by a hip, good-looking, young computer progamme, and ‘Raining Castles’ could be worse. The closest touchstone in contemporary terms is Wakefield’s The Cribs. Remember them?
