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Panurge brings new music styles

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Take the sound of the late 1960s, add some early 90s electronica and some synthesizers, and you?ve got the psychedelic sound of Panurge, a three-man band from Vancouver, Canada.

Panurge came together in the summer of 2000 when Chris Levell and Jon Schubert found each other. They shared a love for the music of the late 60s, and after knowing each other for several years, Levell and Schubert found Daniel Byrne through mutual friends.

After creating a few tracks together, the band split to different parts of the globe. While Byrne was in Ireland and Levell was in Calgary, Schubert stayed in Vancouver, and the three began work on their first album. Levell and Byrne literally mailed in their contribution for the album to Schubert. Thus Erectangle was born in 2001.

Threw Down the Reigns, their second album and a work done with all three members in the same country, shows the unity of the band. Their harmony interestingly matches the electric sounds of the drums in the background, almost making the guitar seem superfluous.

Some of their songs are reminiscent of Simon and Garfunkel but others are slower and invoke the sound of Pink Floyd with a psychedelic tone and slow, moody singing. And they are able to create something uniquely their own with songs like ?You?ve Pleased the King? with their own upbeat and emo sound.

While many of their songs are not obviously upbeat, they are faster paced and carry with them a multitude of pulsing drum lines. In songs such as ?La Petite Citrouille? the melody almost sounds as though it should be in a video game. With the vocals repeating themselves saying, ?Please don?t close your eyes? a gong periodically sounding behind them. Synthesizers dominate this track and occasionally the guitar can be heard as a hard metallic sound.

In other songs such as ?Faux Pal,? develop a slower melody where the singing and the guitar are at the forefront. This song is suggestive of Pink Floyd with their haunting singing, resonating before slowly moving back into synthesizers and background noise in the song ?Chapter Nineteen.? On this tune Panurge sings, ?With enemies like those/ Who needs friends??

Their songs are a mixture of the 60s pop that they are trying to illicit with the added sound of synthesizers and found noises from the out doors, where some of their songs were recorded. The sounds of the outside, although sometimes in the background, add an interesting tonality, which makes you wonder which are electronically generated and which real.

Many of Panurge?s songs tell stories that are both evocative and humorous. In the song ?Sweet Fannie Annie? they sing about a girl going shopping: ?Sweet Fannie Annie goes shopping with Granny at six?. It has an upbeat sound and the title alone forces listeners to smile. Overall the entire band has an interesting eclectic sound, which brings back memories of classic rock. It also has a little something for listeners looking to discover something different. Panurge distinguish themselves because of their outdoors sounds, their synthesizers and their emo stylings.

Grade: A/B.