There's a lot of diversity in Hearing Trees' simplicity - you could easily slot the local quartet's sounds onto rock radio, into a dark club, onto your favourite indie blog, or in the background of the scene where the teen lovers kiss from the first time - but it's focused. There are obvious eighth generation post punk references to be made (opener "Room For You" takes you from Joy Division to New Order in under five minutes) but the sounds seem more like sincerity than homage. "Love Oblivion" is genuinely catchy and upbeat, but the spoken-word "Kites" feels somewhat out of place after these two. Closing with the epic "Shipwrecker", an acoustic-driven dirge that showcases Graham Hnatiuk's baritone, it's a promising debut from one of Winnipeg's most intriguing new acts.

Published in Volume 68, Number 27 of The Uniter (June 4, 2014)