Chad VanGaalen - Soft Airplane

Ever since I heard his debut album, Infiniheart, in 2004, I've always had a soft spot for Calgary native, Chad VanGaalen, and his lo-fi bedroom sound. Fast forward four years, an album, and several EP's later and VanGaalen is still churning out simple pop melodies and confessional lyrics. On his newest album, Soft Airplane, due for release on Sept. 9th, VanGaalen takes his lo-fi charm and serves it up against a background of pop complexities. The album opens with the stripped-down, "Willow Tree," utilizing VanGaalen's strongest elements: his quivering falsetto and an acoustic guitar. This track sets a darker tone for the rest of the album, seen especially in such aptly named tracks like "Bones of Man" and "Cries of the Dead." The latter is also one of the standouts on the album, complete with bare-bones acoustic picking, shuffling percussion, accordion, and VanGaalen's quirky lyrics ("I can hear the cries of the dead / Maybe its your neighbor playing his trumpet in the basement.") In typical VanGaalen fashion, each track on Soft Airplane is barely longer than three minutes, however, unlike his two lengthy previous albums (both between 15-19 tracks long), this album is only thirteen tracks and it definitely works in its favor. Instead of having a handful of less than stellar songs backed up by ten really amazing ones, VanGaalen has written an album with thirteen strong tracks that run the gamut from lo-fi acoustic ("Molten Lights") to densely-packed electronica ("Phantom Anthills"). In other words, Soft Airplane is another great addition to VanGaalen's discography and further proof that you should check out this talented man if you have yet to do so.

DOWNLOAD: Chad VanGaalen - Soft Airplane [Sub Pop]
Recommended Tracks: "Cries Of The Dead," "Bare Feet On Wet Griptape," "Phantom Anthills," "TMNT Mask."