Upon first listen to Ontario Girls, I knew Rochester's Pleistocene was a shoo-in for an Album of the Week nod. I was pleasantly surprised at just how uplifting Ontario Girls could be - I think as a whole, it really brightened up my week. The Weezer-tinged shoegazers specialize in catchy, female (and occasionally male) fronted jams full of crunchy guitars and squiggly keyboards. Besides Weezer, pleistocene has a fuzzy jangle that brings to mind Ozma or Zolof the Rock and Roll Destroyer... Maybe even a hint of Metric or Wavves.
I might be speaking too soon, but Ontario Girls is one hell of a release, and I'm predicting a year-end sweep (or at least a few more-than-pleasant comments). Pleistocene has penned some great songs here that, for lack of a more eloquent phrase, are just a really good time. "Big Bang" is a raucous introduction, building a hyper catchy tune off of a bouncy, electric piano. "Cream and Citrus" follows suit, making use of droning background synths and gain-saturated vocals.
Pleistocene are no one-trick-ponies though - for every delightfully straightforward track like "Butter," we are rewarded with something a little different like the ethereal "Talk to Me." The oddest moments on this album come from "Hit the Books" and "Finer Things" which, to pleistocene's credit, don't seem to fit into any discernible genre. The guitar line in "Finer Things" alone was intriguing enough to make me crane my head to get my ear closer to the speakers. Once I realized how ridiculous I must have looked, I realized how exciting Pleistocene can be.
Even though the band is capable of writing simple pop songs, the refreshing (and downright surprising) thing about Pleistocene is their ability to push the boundaries of pop music. "Finer Things" might not get attention from the radio in the way that "Big Bang" might, but the plethora of strange sounds and intriguing effects are enough to catch any person's ear in just the right way.
Lastly, "The Band" finds Pleistocene channeling Wolf Parade with just a touch of cynicism. That being said, it's no secret that pop bands are a dime a dozen... And with the recent explosion of great new shoegaze and emo bands, it's a welcome experience to stumble upon a band like Pleistocene who knows how to mold pop music into an interesting format. I am usually biased since I live in Buffalo and all, but I have to say, Rochester and Pleistocene have set the bar pretty high this time.
in the future our kids are going to say "why the fuck did they record this so shitty? didn't they have recording software in 2014?"