Artist Spotlight: Land Of Talk

Throw a rock into a room full of Canadian musicians and chances are you will hit somebody associated with Broken Social Scene. Elizabeth Powell was at one point part of Broken Social Scene, touring with the band. But that is not her musical claim to fame. Rather it is the work she has done with the Montreal based band Land of Talk. Liz Powell started writing music at the age of fourteen and played in a few bands in her hometown of Geulph, Ontario. While attending Concordia University in Montreal she formed the initial Land of Talk lineup in 2006. Since then band members have rotated in the trio that now consists of Elizabeth Powell, Joe Yarmush, and Andrew Barr.

Their debut EP Applause Cheer Boo Hiss was released in 2006. This was followed by the debut album Some Are Lakes released in 2008. In 2009 the Fun and Laughter EP was released. However during the tour for this EP, the band unfortunately had to stop touring as Liz suffered a hemorrahage vocal polyp. She had to go six months without singing as she recovered.

But she was able to make a full recovery in time to record their new album Cloak and Cipher which was released August 24th, 2010. Not only did she make a full recovery, but also accepted Montreal as her home and released something she was really comfortable with. With the help of some friends, Land of Talk has delivered one of the “must hear” Canadian indie albums of the year. The opening title track “Cloak and Cipher” features one of Canada’s best drummers, Loel Campell of Wintersleep, laying down the drumbeats. Jeremy Gara from Arcade Fire played the drums on “Quarry Hymns”. Members of Stars contributed to various tracks. Patrick Watson played piano on “The Hate I Won’t Commit”. It was recorded in the studio of Jace Lasek (the Besnard Lakes) who also contributes on many of the tracks including the string arrangement on “Goal Time Exposure”. While it has all these fingerprints on the album, it is Liz Powell who really shines through on this album. Her vocals have a soft and beautiful tone to them, but still enough of an edge to remind you that you are listening to a rock and roll album and not some disposable soft rock tune. This album sounds focused with the guests really bolstering the tracks rather than distracting. When best of lists are made at the end of the year, this album deserves to be on it. “Quarry Hymns” is easily one of the best songs of the summer featuring a steady drumbeat, dynamic vocals, and slick electric guitar strums that attract the listener immediately.

Key Tracks: Quarry Hymns, Cloak and Cipher, Swift Coin, Blangee Blee