Ohbijou - Intro To SeasonAlbum: Beacons [2009]
this toronto-based indie pop ensemble, whose folksy, multi-instrumental sound welcomes comparisons to the bowerbirds, the decemberists, and new-era mirah, started out simply as a solo project. brantford singer/songwriter casey mecijia began working on ohbijou's first songs in the early 2000s; she started collaborating on those songs with her multi-instrumentally inclined sister, jennifer, soon after. the mecijia sisters eventually relocated to toronto, where they welcomed a host of new members into ohbijou soon after they arrived. though their first album, 2007's "swift feet for troubling times" is fantastic, the band seems much more self-assured on their second release, "beacons". in the midst of all the elemental, atmospheric multi-instrumental flourishes that crowd the album, mecijia's tender, vibrato-heavy soprano sounds as if it were no bigger than the head of a pin. the group employs both acoustic folk and country instruments - banjo and mandolin in addition to guitar - plus chamber instruments like violin and cello, and lots of keyboards to create atmospheric arrangements played in swirling, circular patterns. a lot of room on the album, however, is given over to meandering, introspective tracks ("thunderlove) and as glimmering and darkly lovely as they are, they don't quite match the catchiness that characterized the best songs on the band's debut ("st. francis", for example). all in all this is an elegant, grown-up elaboration on the band's previous work.
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