Having recorded and released three collections of songs in the past 14 months (Animal Parts in 2012, Other Rooms EP in August, and Six Arms To Hold You EP later this month), Toronto’s Animal Parts have become something of a staple in their hometown’s music scene. Blending an intrinsic understanding of their own folk-rock influences — namely Neil Young and Wilco — with the idea that melodies can be drawn from anywhere and at any time, the band creates ramshackle grooves that inhabit bucolic narratives of personal failings and deep-seated revelations. They’ve worked with a number of fellow Canadian artists such as Bahamas, Doug Paisley, and Justin Rutledge and all have contributed their own unique voices to Animal Parts’ musical sum.
On their latest single, “Grey Owl Call, the,” Animal Parts open with a churning guitar line and muted cymbal strikes before breaking out into a full-on southern rock slow burn. Occasionally, the guitars will lie low for a time allowing an organ and piano to creep higher into the mix. And though singer and frontman Joshua Cokerill’s mournful vocals provide the main driving force for the music, it’s the interlocking melodies between all the musicians that makes “Grey Owl Call, the” something really remarkable. Taking the intimate confessionals of Neil Young and spiking them with the rock twang of The Drive-By Truckers, the band meshes influence with inspiration to create a song that speaks to everyone in 2013 but could have been written in 1972.
Beats Per Minute is pleased to premiere the latest single, “Grey Owl Call, the,” from Animal Parts’ upcoming EP, Six Arms To Hold You.
