Release Date: May 17, 2011
Flemish Eye/Sub Pop; 12 Tracks; CD, LP
Review by: Colleen Hale-Hodgson
Chad VanGaalen's fourth studio offering is yet another departure for this Canadian folk troubadour.
With the charmingly titled Diaper Island, VanGaalen has dipped his guitar into a pool of psychedelic grunge, resulting in a sometimes flawed, often surprising listen.
Lately, VanGaalen's work has veered into more experimental territory. In 2009 he released the experimental electronic album Snow Blindness Is Crystal Antz under the pseudonym Black Mold. The album is full of synth bleeps, drones and non-traditional rhythmic structures, creating dense and mostly anti-melodic soundscapes. Diaper Island is far more conventional, but there are elements of that experimental side seeping through (much like they did on pieces from his previous records). Tracks like "Replace Me" and "Can You Believe It!?" both open with a bit of electronic noise before moving into more traditional sounding setup. However, the electronic elements feel more like an afterthought and are not as integral to Diaper Island as they are in his previous album, the Polaris Prize-nominated Soft Airplane.
Everything on Diaper Island – with the exception of the ironically pleasant sounding folky album closer "Shave My Pussy" – is covered in a layer of grime. Distortion is the de-facto guitar setting, and a minor-mode-moodiness is prevalent throughout. VanGaalen's vocals are layered, and are often buried under a thick coating of reverb. This is an unfortunate choice since it gives the less ambitious orchestrations precedence over the singer's usually more compelling vocals.
"Freedom For a Policeman" is a propulsive, fun, anti-establishment jam, while "Sara" is a really beautiful ballad with a chorus that will get stuck in your head for days. "Wandering Spirits" has a neat curveball clarinet solo at the centre, but is otherwise a plodding downer that's more interesting than it is fun to listen to. The previously mentioned "Shave My Pussy" is written from the perspective of a self-conscious woman, uncomfortable with her own body and her sexual desires. It sounds very different from every song that comes before it, placing the vocals upfront and keeping the instrumentation very minimal. I kind of wish that the whole album was more like this last song, but if I can't have that it is still nice to end it off with such a strong piece.
If you think of VanGaalen primarily as a creative folk singer (like I do), this may not be your favourite album of his. However, if you're more a fan of his guitar-driven heavier offerings, Diaper Island is the straight-up rock album you have been waiting for.
