Martin Crane and Erik Wofford are Austin’s production dream team. These two masters could make even a high school ska band sound good. But for as much talent as there is behind the knobs and switches on this recording, there’s just as much talent on the business side of the microphones, compliments of Praveen Ayyagari, with some help from Martin Crane and a few others, including members of White Denim and Tacks, The Boy Disaster. After listening to album after album of new music, it’s nice to sit back, relax and tap my foot along to Canopy’s first offering, a short, 5-song, laid-back (in a good way) EP called Canopy/Anopy.

The EP opens with clicks, hi-hat, toms, and Ayyagari’s airy vocals, before melting into a chorus that layers on the reverb (which seems to have a “sublime” function) while Ayyagari sings, “Life’s much harder when it hits you both ways,” trailing off into Crane’s equally compelling guitar tones (I’m not sure if it’s him playing, but the tone certainly sounds like something he’d have marked on his amp).

“Everybody Trips A Little Now And Then” brings things down to a quiet lull, with soft percussion, clean tones and slide guitars to support the soothing vocals. I was crossing Guadalupe during rush hour when I first listened to this song, and I could’ve sworn it was complete silence. Now that I’ve had the chance to hole myself up in my room and put it on over the studio monitors, I can appreciate it in all its quiet glory. I’ve said (Martin Crane’s) Brazos‘ last EP A City Just As Tall sounds like A Ghost Is Born with all the quiet parts filled out. Well, this song sounds like someone took all the louder parts out of A City Just As Tall and ended up with…well I’m not sure what that gets you but it sounds pretty good.

Probably my favorite song on the EP comes in at track three. Starting with a tom beat and an acoustic guitar, the song builds with bass, vocals, and piano until it hits the chorus, where the whole range of instruments open up, and Ayyagari belts the “sing-a-long”-inviting lyrics “when everywhere I go, I seem to lose my way…” The song probably best illustrates the appeal of Canopy: creative instrumentation, memorable lyrics, pop sensibilities and damn-near-perfect production.

For example, the power chords that lead off “The Listener” drive the song as well as any Rock n’ Roll rhythm, and the melody is equally catchy, in the traditional sense, but horns, pianos and bells line the mix from the first chorus on. “Untitled (Alley Cat)” is equally creative in its instrumentation, though the song as a whole is not quite as exciting as the rest of the EP (except the guitar solo – seriously, the guitar tones on this EP are solid gold).

Canopy/Anopy is the perfect EP, not just because it’s enjoyable to listen to, but because it does all the things an EP is supposed to do: make me excited about the band. Really excited.

Canopy/Anopy is out May 6, 2008 on Autobus Records.

Websites
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Music
Canopy - Neon Lines