Karkwa - Le volume du vent (2005)

For their third studio album, Karkwa put together a batch of atmospheric, well-crafted rock songs that mirrored the music of Radiohead and Coldplay. Le Volume du Vent opens with a soft melody that moves into a grandiose, sweeping arrangement centered around lead vocalist Louis-Jean Cormier's melodies. The music only gets more sweeping and grandiose from there. String sections sway wildly, compositional styles are played with, and Cormier croons in French in front of it all. The singsong format of "Oublie Pas" contrasts strongly with the grandeur of "Deux Lampadaires," and the nearly acoustic balladry of the title track sits apart from them both. The compositions are solid throughout. They're full of basic hooks and riffs with an apparent eye toward marketability, but those hooks and riffs aren't entirely gratuitous. Twinkling pianos in "Le Solstice" mirror elements of the Police, and the melancholy directions in "Dormir le Jour" echo portions of Soundgarden's darkness. There's a lot tucked away in this album, packed extremely densely. It's likely to take a couple of listens to get it all.