New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Canada's Label Obscura is proud to announce the upcoming reissue of one of the best independent pop albums of the early 2000s - 'The Night And I Are Still So Young' by The
Heavy Blinkers. This is the first time this classic album will be released on vinyl.
Described by Spin magazine as "one of the greatest bands you've (probably) never heard", The
Heavy Blinkers is a five-piece formed in 1998 by Jason Michael MacIsaac and a group of friends, including keyboardist and songwriter Andrew Watt and ethereal vocalist Ruth Minnikin. They are based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
By 2004, the intricate and tightly constructed chamber pop of The
Heavy Blinkers had become well known, winning them widespread acclaim, albeit without corresponding commercial success for their self-titled debut release in 2000 and the 'Better Weather' LP in 2002. The band reached a remarkable breakthrough with their fourth album 'The Night and I Are Still So Young' (2004), exhibiting a new maturity in this stunningly orchestrated pop masterpiece.
At the time that 'The Night and I Are Still Young' was recorded, The
Heavy Blinkers were comprised of Andrew Watt, Greg Fry, Jason MacIsaac, Ruth Minnikin, and Trevor Forbes. MacIsaac is currently the only remaining original member of the band.
Two years in the making, this album consolidates the nocturnal orchestrations of the
Flaming Lips and
Mercury Rev and grafts them onto material akin to 70's era Beach Boys,
Harry Nilsson or Randy Newman. This has led to the group gathering fans wide and afar, including Sondre Lerche, Van Dyke Parks and The High Llamas.
The luscious pop songmanship of this album has earned The
Heavy Blinkers comparisons with Brian Wilson's best work at his peak, as well as international acclaim and devoted fans. The band's sonic landscape is rich with multi-tracked vocals featuring an affecting interplay between Minnikin, Watt and MacIsaac, combined with a virtual enchanted forest of arrangements.
Noisey recently included The
Heavy Blinkers in their Completely Biased Ranking of the 60 Best Canadian Indie Rock Songs of the 00s, with the band also ranking Number 1 in View 902's The Top 20 Albums by Nova Scotians.
Label Obscura is giving this classic album the vinyl release it deserves. With brand new artwork by Yorodeo, detailed liner notes by Brian Chidester and pressed on 180-gram vinyl with a limited edition pressing of 300 copies, this release will bring plenty of smiles to fans new and old alike. It is now available for pre-order via Bandcamp.
TRACKLIST
1. Filtered Light
2. In the Morning
3. Mother Dear
4. Try Telling That to My Baby
5. Gentle Strength
6. The Night and I Are Still So Young
7. He Heard His Song
8.
Silver Crown
9. Veranda Celeste
10. Fall On My Sword
11. Unreasonably Sad
12. Don't Get Me Wrong
"The
Heavy Blinkers are easily the East Coast's best kept secret, even in their 20th year. Their music is this wonderfully ornate and symphonic indie pop, expertly arranged by lead Blinker Jason MacIsaac, that's equal parts Burt Bacharach, Brian Wilson, Ennio Morricone and Carl Newman" - Noisey
"Beyond simple accomplishment and into the realm of masterwork thanks to the production and pure genius arrangements... guileless delight... a tour-deforce of unequalled pop excellence" - Rolling Stone
"Emotionally candid and spiritually vast, dealing with the weight of life itself" - Uncut Magazine
"For every triumphant Bacharach horn flourish there's sadder soft-pop reflection. With it's mournful strings, I Used To Be A Design is tinged with the same melancholy as Surf's Up, but the light always breaks through" - Mojo Magazine
"The
Heavy Blinkers is the best album of suite-like grandeur since the last
Olivia Tremor Control record" -
Magnet Magazine
"Positively harmonious on par with the excellence exhibited in the best work of
Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys. No two other artists sound as similar in esthetic as these classic giants - in the songmanship, style and even production level. This is flawless chamber pop at its best and an impeccably orchestrated composition" - The Spill Magazine
