Put aside all the unfair stereotypes you’ve ever heard about Saskatchewan. OK, now pick up this album from Regina eight-piece pop collective Library Voices and find a sturdy chair, or better yet a sturdy dance floor. Don’t let the sweetly harmonized voices fool you: these songs pack a witty punch – the super catchy Party Like It’s 2012 – and a social relevance, as in Family Night, which examines our pharmaceutical society. Ben Folds comes to mind at some points, but the styles and themes are so varied that there’s no cute formula to summarize the entire sound. There’s an unavoidable gimmicky aspect to any band calling themselves a collective, and even Library Voices can’t avoid it completely. Denim on Denim is top heavy, starting with its best song, Drinking Games, and petering our slightly after that. Still, very much worth a listen.

Published in Volume 65, Number 13 of The Uniter (November 25, 2010)