• Band / Artist : The Details – mySpace
• Genre : Rock / Pop
• Sample Track Download : The Height of the Land
• Buy CD : Band Store
• Buy Digital Download : iTunes
• Rating : 9 out of 10

I’ve reviewed many albums via the Crash Avenue PR company, but I have to admit, none has raised the hairs up on the back of my neck, like this release from The Details. I really shouldn’t have been surprised, considering my exposure to Canadian music, that this band is from Canada. Indeed they hail from Winnipeg, home to another Indie Launchpad favourite band, The Weakerthans. There is much that sounds similar to The Weakerthans, whether it’s a result of where they are from in Canada, or from Canada itself, but what does it really matter in the grand scheme of things. Great music is great music, no matter where it is from.

The album opens with “Always, Always, Always, Never” and was the track that got me really hooked. It builds so beautifully and at times reminds me of the classic U2 track from their Rattle and Hum album, “Van Diemens Land”. I love this track to death and would buy the album based on this track alone. When listening to “Reunion Souvenirs” I couldn’t shake of The Killers as a comparison. This track is probably a bit less pop and more rock than The Killers, but there are many similarities. “Burns Brighter” and “Underground” are great tracks, but they don’t have the same fire that is prevalent throughout the rest of the album.

It seems many bands like to have a gob smacking title or two on their album, The Details decided to do it with “I Asked What We Should do. You Said ‘I Just Don’t Want to Think'” which is a track name, I’m never going to remember in a month of Sundays, but the track itself is very pleasant with some wonderful violin accompaniment. “A National Anthem” is just an amazing track. It builds and builds and then crashes to an almost brick wall end. At a tad under 6 minutes, it speeds by surprisingly quickly.

“The Height of Land” is another track that brings a surprising comparison, this time to the 90’s UK band James. Not so much the vocals, but the music which could have been lifted from a James album. I also love the guitar that plays throughout the track. “Floor Plans” is an unusually sedate track, featuring strong the piano, and it’s such a sweet, but sorrowful track.

The album closes out with “Far Off Places” and again this is a 6 minute marathon, but one that is enjoyed, rather than endured. It’s also a track I can hear The Weakerthans singing in my head. A great album that shook away the cobwebs, or rather opened my ears again to something a bit on the rockier side. The Details are certainly a band I’d like to keep firm tabs on, as they have all the hallmarks of a top grade, enduring act.

Conclusion : A terrific album that opens strongly, boils away and then lets of all the steam in the final track. Brilliant stuff.