Sterling Grove-Parallel Lines: Album Review

Montreal’s duo Marc Luciano and Stephen Robusto, under the stage name as Sterling Grove, is being touted as the latest Canadian based dance music export of note. The duo’s debut album, “Parallel Lines” on Youth Records features several guest vocalists including Jono McCleery, Black Lotus, Adelaide, Ellyn Wood, Munya and Monsoonsiren, who featured on the title single released back in November. Throughout “Parallel Lines” Sterling Grove showcases their musical wizardy of rhythm making by putting on exhibit very deep breakbeat, down-tempo and chill-out feels while creating dreamy music, steeped in soul, high soaring and brightly colored textures, rip-roaring distorted drums, and a multitude of different vocal treatments, from natural and elegant to the machine manipulated. Highlights include “Beneath” featuring Jono McCleery, beginning in a melodramatic fashion, the track picks up the pace and back and forth it goes. Shout outs to Munya! Lending her voice to 5 tracks: “One Year Ago,” “Nocturne,” “How Far,” “Bridge” and “Way I Used To.” The breathy, upper-register vocals delivered by Munya feature brilliantly against the backdrop of bright dance oriented sounds. It’s worth noting “Nocturne” is pure “Gold” and the track “Bridge” is as dreamy as a Julee Cruise Twin Peaks song. “Wither” featuring Adelaide drips with acid over-tones, cinematic sound effects and Adelaine’s softly sung vocals, which adds a sense of the mystical. Closing up the album Munya returns for “Way I Used To.” A big time head nod to the “Madchester” scene with this one. Shuffling drumbeats, bongos, a la Stone Roses “Fools Gold” to a killer mid-section, with Munya’s soaring voice sealing the deal. With this album, Sterling Grove have given us a solid production offering up catchy melodies, danceable rhythms, and dreamscapes of magical sounds. And as you listen track by track, the feel becomes all the more infectious and groove oriented. It slowly hooks you in with a gentle ease. To fully appreciate each song, listen then listen again, there is a lot of intricate and moving parts to the songs on this album, and each deserve multiple plays and demands your full attention. In terms of clubbland, there are songs on this album that would fill dance floors, one in particular, the aforementioned “Nocturne.” All in all, I enjoyed this album, and the pleasant change of electronic music style represented in it.

—Leo Weaver

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Review

User Rating

3.7 (3 Votes)

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4/5 StarsScore

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