REVERSING FALLS play May Café on Friday (May 3). See listing. Rating: NNN
Enjoyment of Reversing Falls’ two-years-delayed debut LP mostly depends on when you grew up. Have a copy of Big Shiny Tunes 2 sitting in its scratched jewel case somewhere in your childhood bedroom? Then you’re the target audience for the Montreal band, who aim straight for your nostalgia receptor. Big, foregrounded power chords, emotively strained vocals, drum machines and short, scrappy melodies add up to singalong beer-drinking anthems for grown-up Matthew Good fans.
Indeed, 90s rock is currently a hot reference point for young bands, but Reversing Falls cull from the decade’s less fashionable echelons: glossy CanRock, pop-punk and radio alt-rock. The three-piece (sometimes four-) wear their influences on their sleeves, but you get no sense they’re doing it for cheap buzz. You don’t reference Everclear if you’re trying to be hip.
Top track: Pyramid Scheme
