Continent by CFCF
LABEL: Paper Bag Records

“And alternatively, the best tortured soul singer/songwriter stuff shouldn’t be consumed with depressants. It’s a legit conundrum.”

Sometimes when you’re having a few friends over and it’s not one of those “get out the fog machine because I’m pouring a jug of grain alcohol in the punch” parties, but more of a reserved affair where you might actually want to converse with your guests, it’s a pain in the ass to throw together an easy listening playlist.

If you’re a fan of progressive indie music, then you know a lot of it can be headphones-only material not necessarily ripe for mixed company listening. And alternatively, the best tortured soul singer/songwriter stuff shouldn’t be consumed with depressants. It’s a legit conundrum.

Anyway, if you’ve ever experienced this dilemma, it’s a problem no longer because Montreal’s CFCF has released Continent.

To say that you can put this album on and just forget about it is possibly a knock to its quality but it shouldn’t be. Sometimes you just want (and need) a straightforward disc that’s going to provide a little punch, a little humor and ruffle minimal feathers. Michael Silver (aka CFCF) clearly understands this and has delivered a very enjoyable solution. 

So if the birds-eye review of Continent is that it’s very, very good background music, the more critical deep dive is that when you really open your ears, this one provides everything from the cold moodiness of the Junior Boys to an early 90s Orbital-inspired halcyon glow and, no joke, an honest to goodness Fleetwood Mac cover.

“Hazy atmospherics and gently descending piano rolls ride snugly alongside solid and satisfying claps of low bass and dull thud drumbeats.”

If the album has one certified banger, it’s “Come Closer,” a breathy builder that feels very much like something Silver’s Canadian peers, the aforementioned Junior Boys, could have very easily tacked on to their latest effort. Rattling drum machines and a subtle but constant series of blips accompany the track’s whispered vocals to very lovely effect.

Album opener “Raining Patterns” feels a lot like a kinder, gentler B-side from an early M83 album. Hazy atmospherics and gently descending piano rolls ride snugly alongside solid and satisfying claps of low bass and dull thud drumbeats.

Surprisingly, the album’s greatest weakness is its rather taxing overall runtime. Though it would seem natural to assume more is always better, Continent, like any given Saturday Night Live skit, proves that good ideas can very easily be diminished by unnecessary length.

Are you likely to see a track or two from Continent turn up on a compilation album with “chillout” and “volume four” in the title? Probably. Should that scare you off?  It really shouldn’t. First impressions of CFCF may yield shrugged shoulders and indifference, but look a little closer and the depth, intelligence and precision of Continent is abundantly clear. 


REVIEWED BY ALEC BRINEGAR
ALEC'S 3 FAVORITE TRACKS:  “Raining Patterns” • “Come Closer” • “Big Love”


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CFCF - You Hear Colours from tommy boy on Vimeo.