Shotgun Jimmie

“The Stills” are a five-piece Montreal Canadian based indie rock band. The Stills comprise of Tim Fletcher (Vocal and Guitar), Dave Hamelin (Vocal and Lead Guitar), Liam O’Neil (Keyboards, Percussion and Backing Vocal), Olivier Corbeil (Bass and Backing Vocal) and Julien Blais (Drums). Of all the members of The Stills, all members except Julien Blais knew each other since they were 12 years old as they were art students at a school in Montreal. They only formed The Stills in 2000. Throughout their life as The Stills, they have released an EP and two full length albums, called Rememberese EP, Logic Will Break Your Heart and Without Feathers respectively. In 2007, The Stills supported indie rockers Kings Of Leon during their UK spring tour.

Oceans Will Rise by The Stills is really good to have if you are looking forward to a good time rocking. Well there is nothing new to be offered by The Stills in their third installation, but i have to say, i really had a good time with Oceans Will Rise, any rock fan would definitely love this album.

The Stills’ Oceans Will Rise has a really good first impression upon hearing “Don’t Talk Down”. The music is really catchy, and The Stills’ vocals on this track was amazingly good. “Don’t don’t talk down to me, don’t don’t talk down to me, your head is moving side to side, your head is moving side to side..” Correct me if im wrong, i have a tendency to think that this song is about love-making. Perhaps suitable if you’re about to do it. I really love Don’t Talk Down, the music is very bouncy.

“Snow In California” has an opening that really resembles “Heavyweight Champion Of The World” by Reverend and The Makers. No kidding! But once it began to pick up, the guitar came in with some electronic elements to it which sound absolutely good. Throughout this whole song, there were some mixture of electronic music to it. It’s a great effort by The Stills to try to add some varieties to their music. This is no doubt, a great effort.

“Snakecharming The Masses” has a weird title. But don’t get me wrong, weird doesn’t mean bad. Non-stop playing of the guitar can be heard throughout in this track, and i really mean non-stop. At times, it sounded like some Arabian songs. One the second verse came in, it got louder. This song is like a test, testing Tim’s vocal, on different notes and pitches, having Tim to moan and yell at some points. But Tim made it worth your while, he did pull Snakecharming The Masses off.

“Being Here” sounded like The Stills are telling a story of their own. How they got to where they are today. Lovely track. I don’t know how would you feel when you listen to this song. But i can feel their pain, their joy and most importantly their journey as The Stills. This song is loud and full of guitar riff, bass, drums and keyboards. With the chorus of “Being Here…”, this song is an anthem off Oceans Will Rise.

On “Everything I Build”, The Stills slowed it down and for a moment, i can feel as if The Stills are singing acoustically. This song is like a build-up for Tim to release, there was a moment where Tim yelled, “Drink a little bit, that’s a little bit, take a chance, or lose it all, i have no remorse no regrets, when I’m hanging from the seventeenth floor”. I can feel his letting out at the exact moment. At the chorus, Tim sang, “Everything I build is breaking down…”. Despair can be heard in Tim’s voice as he sang.

“Panic” starts off with some curious-creating bass line. To me, i think this song is about being panic whenever something goes wrong. Honestly, instead of being panic, i really love this song. The guitar came in at the right time everytime to join the bass. Really amazing. And when Tim sang, “Panic… Panic”. It was just so simple, but yet you can’t help but to love this song. Enjoy panic!

“Eastern Europe” has a really catchy and infectious hook to it. The guitar of this song made it impossible not to be heard and get noticed. And the lyrics had a really deep meaning to it and i can’t tell what The Stills were trying to deliver. Meaning aside, this track scored a big time in its music, the guitar especially.

“Hands on Fire” are an indie pop rock song. Very friendly to your ear. It can be an instant radio classic and receive lots of radio airplay. At first listen, the guitar will charm you, accompanied with the constant drums playing. It’s such a suitable song for the summer holidays. When it comes to the chorus, Tim let it out, “My hands are on fire, my hands are on fire..” It’s very good!

“Dinosaurs” is another track that is full of loud guitar riff and what an indie band would do best if you give them guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, percussion and so on. In Dinosaurs, Tim sang in a draggy way to suit the track’s tempo and beat. It’s not a bad track though.

“I’m With You” is somewhat similar to Hands On Fire. It’s very radio friendly and the music has some summer elements in it, making it a perfect song for summer holidays. I just love the part, “If you believe in me, i’ll believe in you, i’m with you, if you want me to…” The repetition of “I’m with you” is really good.

“Rooibos/Palm Wine Drinkard” is the longest track on the album, spanning over 5:47 minutes long. It has two parts, where the second part comes in at approximately 1:37 minutes. The first part of this song is crunchy and loud. Filled with Tim’s yellings and moanings and at times, when the guitar was at its solo point, it felt like something with terror is coming. When it came to the second part, it quietened down. Background music were filled with sounds of the beach and bongo drums until the end. A peaceful way to end the song.

“Statue of Sirens” is a great way to end the album. It’s an acoustic track with Tim’s showcasing his husky and deep voice. You can hear the guitar on a constant playing mode to accompany Tim’s voice throughout the whole track. At times, the rest of The Stills will join Tim as background vocals. It wouldn’t be long when you realize this track closes Oceans Will Rise.

Rating: Oceans Will Rise by The Stills is not bad at all. They tried adding in some new varities to make it sounds fresher. Honestly, i like Oceans Will Rise. If you compare it with Without Feathers, definitely you’d find that The Stills have taken another step to a new approach. This time The Stills added some electronic elements to their sound, which i think was remarkable. They managed to made a difference to Oceans Will Rise. There were some really memorable tracks worth mentioning and crediting, backing up by great music playing, the true style of The Stills. Frankly, i rate them 7.0 out of 10. Cheers!

Stand-Out Tracks (My Picks): Don’t Talk Down, Snow In California, Panic, Eastern Europe, I’m With You, Being Here.

Cheers!

Darren Tan

Indiesurf.com