Rye Wolves Release Date : Independent : March 10, 2004; Commercial : June 22, 2004 Label: Vibrahive/ distro Maplecore Rating: Andy doesn't dig rating stuff. Some of you might know Jeff Pearce from Canadian rock darlings Moist, who enjoyed the mid-90's Canrock Boom to the fullest. Now, with that band's singer David Usher carrying the torch with that project (through his own solo efforts), it gives other members room to grow and branch out in their own ways. Pearce has chosen to create Rye, along with a couple of other Toronto musicians, Sean Kelly, Steve Nunnaro, and Robert Shaw. And it's nothing like Moist or David Usher. Nothing. Aside from... Pearce's vocals, which are recognizable from his backing harmonies with Moist. That voice is soft and gentle, subtle and sweet, comforting. The whole CD in fact comes off as soft, gentle, subtle and sweet. The lyrics are artsy and wistful, longing for times past and loves. There is the occasional "different" noise within the music - nothing too off the wall, but just a little unconventional alongside the rest of the disc. Those moments make it a much cooler disc than it would be otherwise. He gets a bit breathy and sexy on "Giant." And is this Pearce's guitar, or Kelly's? I know Kelly can get into some rip-roarin' solos, based on his own project, Crash Kelly. So who's responsible for the raging guitars here? Sounds like him... There's flutes too. Flutes make things nice and cute. "Empires" sounds like a 60's folk song... braids and daisies. Some of the ballads are a soundtrack to sit in a rainy window to. There are some interesting breakdowns and song transitions involving computerized voices. We end up in spots in soft, wavery speak-song. "Movies" contains some guitars that are so cool, with big snarly feedback and grumbling. "God Is In The White Rice" gives us lonely, metallic sounds. The vocal melodies are almsot like an ominous metal ballad. It can't be though, can it? There are strings... maybe it's goth. Noooo. It gets almost movie-score minimalist orchestral throughout. There are great harmonizing background sounds full of effects, violins, pianos... and making way for jazzy guitars and drums. The last track, "Sleep," is echoey, simple, with piano and canyon-echo vocals, and again echoey drum noises. Very subtle. Gorgeous, like flying on a cloud or lying on dewey grass. Beautful end to the disc. Interesting noises or not, this is one man gifted in songcraft. There's a few rock songs grinding throughout, such as "Radio One" and "If It's True." I'm not sure if Pearce's gentle voice suits the louder songs as much. It comes across as far more powerful on the mellower tunes. He emotes better and suits them better. The album art is interesting. Wolves! Painted by Pearce. They're quite oriental looking, in swirly blues and greens, making them near abstract. It's mixed up so it almost looks like a blurry map of the earth. Along the bottom is a blurb, seemingly nonsensical, about wolves and teeth and mice and people. On the other side, the lyrics are written oout with random caps and different fonts. And surprise! Keeping it in the family, many Moist band members show up in the credits as having contributed in some way. Wolves are rad. Lyric of choice : From "If It's True"... part of my envy is how it flows over / you sensualize how you hate / how you hold my soul.. Song of choice : "Sleep" is just far too beautiful. -Andy Scheffler Elsewhere Rye website Published : July 5, 2004.