Keith Canisius
Ferris wheel makeout
Quince Records
There's no escaping the My Bloody Valentine comparisons with "The sea me, feel me", the opener of Rumskib composer Keith Canisius' debut solo effort. But with other examples such as "Naïve struggle" also available to the listener, it seems somewhat unfair to solely refer to Canisius as yet another Kevin Shields' disciple. It's undeniable that "Ferris wheel makeout" is strongly influenced by Shields' songwriting and production, but there are numerous departures from the crashing waves of delay-saturated guitars and soft vocals. The electronic drum arrangements allow Canisius' songs to feel focused in their quicker tempos, funneling the dreampop, shoegazer instrumentalism into digestible avenues -- especially apparent on the song "Watching old films with new eyes". No matter how overwhelming the keyboards or guitars become, Canisius never lets his compositions slip out of control. While the songs do meander at time, the fact that a listener is left with some sense of coherence at the end of any given track is a testament to Canisius' ability as a composer.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
