First Play: Aidan Knight, Each Other

"I'm not in love with the sound of my voice," Aidan Knight sings on "What Light (Never Goes Out)," one of the standout tracks on his band's new record, Each Other. I hate to break it to you Aidan, but you might be the only one. By the time you get to the chorus on that song, I might not be head over heels but I'm certainly smitten.

Each Other was recorded and produced with Marcus Paquin (The National, Local Natives), but it's not just the vocals that are appealing on this new record from the Victoria band: the music that Olivier Clements, David Barry, Colin Nealis and Julia Knight have created couldn't be more Canadian.

At times moody, brooding, hopeful and intricate, musically, Each Other is deceptively simple. The arrangements sound sparse but the elevated musicianship is there, from the Patrick Watson-esque "You Are Not Here," to the restraint demonstrated in leaving "St. Christina" as a beautiful guitar/vocal and not kitting it out with, for example, the wonderfully horny outro that works so well on "Funeral Singers."

Lyrically, Each Other is inspired by events and observations from lead singer Aidan Knight's life. "It's nice to keep a journal. I've never done it myself, but I get the appeal. You document time and memory; it allows for a kind of time travel. And I am interested in time travel, but also letting my embarrassments and history go quiet when it suits me."

Each Other will be released on Jan. 22 on Outside Music. You can pre-order the album here.

Tracklist

1. "Each Other"
2. "All Clear"
3. "Funeral Singers"
4. "What Light (Never Goes Dim)"
5. "The Arp"
6. "St. Christina"
7. "You Are Not Here"
8. "Black Dream"