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Like Pistons for Engines
Montreal Gazette
Jordan Zivitz
Like the soundtrack to a slow motion film, quinimine's midnight elegies unfold
at a pace most groups would be afraid to work at. Every note has its own space,
every drone serves a purpose, and every subtlety speaks volumes. As with fellow
Mile End whisperers Molasses, patience pays off; give yourself over to the nine-minute
'That's How We Learned to Dance', and the subtle crescendo is as devastating as
any hard-rock climax. Like Pistons for Engines was inspired by changes in urban
landscapes, but the subtext isn't as important as the arrangements' glacial shifts
and valium vocals from Gary Jansz and Alice Cantine. Architectural theory rarely
inspires music this gorgeous. |
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Like Pistons for Engines
Montreal Mirror
Disc of the Week
Lorraine Carpenter
Like each of its songs, this debut LP unfolds gracefully, with a fresh treasure
under every flap. Following 2002's Filaments EP, the disc tests the quartet's
gentle mettle (and that of guest string players Carrie Haber and Joellen Housego,
as well as producer Howard Bilerman), demanding slow, tranquil progressions, engorged
crescendos and Spaceman-style atmospheric tension while highlighting every sound;
the plaintive strings, the organ's hum, the soft ring of the xylophone, the bobbing
guitar and piano, the romantically intertwined rhythm and the alternating and
harmonious vocals of Gary Jansz and Alice Cantine.
9/10 |
