GAURAVSIKKA.COM

Album Art for Plant and Animal's Parc Avenue

I’m glad I managed to snag last minute tickets to see Plants and Animals & Born Ruffians—both Canadian indie bands—at Mercury Lounge last night. I hadn’t heard Plants and Animals before but was immediately impressed by their range and the way they artfully blended a vast array of influences—a bit of the Kooks, The Beatles, Neil Young, Devandra Banhart, Arcade Fire, Yeasayers. They could even go from orchestral, to a dance-driven Afro-beat, to a haunting guitar instrumental.

The Born Ruffians have a very unique sound; it’s frenetic, folksy, and edgy but at the center of their melodies is a special “brand of lovelorn poetry sung by frontman Luke Lalonde sung with equal parts distress and persuasion”—perfectly captured by the iTunes review.

Here’s a sampling of the music:

Plants and Animals - Good Friend
Plants and Animals - Guru
Born Ruffians - I Need A Life
Born Ruffians - Hummingbird