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Vancouver band Behind Sapphire's sound is seriously easygoing

See video

Behind Sapphire promotional image.

Try not to think of "easygoing" in the context of meditation, but rather in the context of cruising at 90km/h on a scenic cross-country highway. Behind Sapphire's self-titled album is the perfect summer music. Current members Matthew Mazankowski, Grant Cassell, Steven Ward, and Dylan Murley produce fun, catchy and intelligent output. What else can you want from your music?

Proper strings supplied by Isidora Nojkovic and Miho Matsuo on tracks such as 'Know It Alls' and 'As For Us' allude to The Beatles' 'She's Leaving Home' and 'Eleanor Rigby' at times while maintaining their originality.

Both 'Waiting By The Satellites' (embedded at the top of this article) and 'Christmas Nigh' (is that Old English?) have videos available for viewing on YouTube. My favourite moments from the album include a theatre of the mind plunge into water accompanied by guitar, which surfaces into a choral-driven interlude in 'Yellow Chalk Fish', as well as Grant Cassell's powerful vocal climaxes in 'Somebody Come Save This Sunshine' and 'Growing Tales' (audio embedded at the bottom of this article).

Actually, the guitar and percussion throughout the entire album are noteworthy. Behind Sapphire's music is also great because it doesn't always follow the standard 4/4 time signature everyone is so used to hearing in pop music. The album makes great use of horns and group singing so that listening is an adventure. If you catch Behind Sapphire live, singer Grant Cassell incorporates props into his performance to create cool, organic voice effects. A toy megaphone and metal vase to expertly aim his voice into the mic without being overly loud or feeding back. The group consists of true entertainers.

Behind Sapphire's liner notes are a work of art. This is a subtle way of providing the fan with more value by purchasing the physical product. I have great respect for this band as they have a fresh sound which literally puts a smile on your face. Behind Sapphire is great for any occasion and will especially strike a chord with fans of Walt Disney, The Beatles, John Mayer, Sufjan Stevens, Patrick Watson, Andrew Bird or St.Vincent.

Visit their MySpace and follow them on Twitter.

Do your mood a favour and give these guys a good listen. See Behind Sapphire perform live with Jasper Sloan Yip May 28th at Heritage Hall. 

 

Follow me on Twitter:

@gomikeyourself

IndieVanYour Vancouver Live Music Blog

John Tanner

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