Versatile Indie Pop
Sean P. Dolan | 08/05/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"P:ano is versatile. This Vancouver-based indie-pop band has really put together an enjoyable disk. P:ano can do so much - "The Den" showed the extent of Krgovich's lyrical and orchestral prowess on a laid back album. "Ghost Pirates Without Heads", more like a half-album, came with the busting out of whimsical songs about childish fantasies along to many simple and interesting instruments.
Here, in "Brigadoon", they continue with the surprises. Turning from pop to twee to sea chanties to folk on a dime, they cram a million sounds into a short period. This keeps things very fresh and interesting, and I can't even go into the variety of instrumentation I hear. A standout track is "You the Widow"... a new take on an old sound - catchy! With 22 songs on one CD, they never linger long on any one thing. I love this. One small downside is that the CD will feel a tad too forced at times. But overall it is quite enjoyable.
Another surprise is Loyva's voice, which clearly shines on some of the tracks, such as "monster mash".
This is a fantastic and acoustically interesting album. It is quite listenable, and while it lacks the depth of some of P:ano's other work, it makes up for it in experimentation. This is a must buy if you like P:ano, weird instruments, or eccentric pop."
Diverse sounding indie pop
nowaveshow | Noblesville, Indiana | 12/27/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"First off P:ano is an indie pop band, but because they use a variety of instruments, tones, and vocalists it keeps things interesting throughout "brigadoon." The album itself is 22 tracks clocking in at 54 minutes and 11 seconds. The vocals on this release are beautifully executed by the band. There is a good mixture of male/female vocals along with some tremendous harmonies. P:ano is a band that reminds me of several groups that I already admire and listen to. You can hear bits and pieces of neutral milk hotel, magnetic fields, saturday looks good to me, and half handed cloud on this cd. To be specific tracks 5 and 7 sound like electronic pop songs of the magnetic fields. The female singer sounds similar to the female vocalist in saturday looks good to me. (especially on pure evil) Overall the tracks on this disc are consistently great due to the high quality songwriting talents of band leader nick krgovich. Another aspect of this release I like is that all the lyrics are included in the liner notes. Its strange to me that nobody else has reviewed this album, but hopefully in time more and more people will take notice of one of the hidden gems of 2005."
Track Listings (22) - Disc #1