Pitchfork

It's only been two years since the Stills went Without Feathers, but it feels like much longer. In 2003, these Canadian underdogs were generally written off as diluting trendy post-punk influences, but five years later, their debut, Logic Will Break Your Heart, actually sounds a bit prophetic, predicting blog faves like Cold War Kids and Tokyo Police Club. Whether that redeems or damns them depends on your tolerance for heavy synths, chiming guitars, and big choruses, which are the bedrock of "Rooibos/Palm Wine Drinkard", from their upcoming third album Ocean s Will Rise, on Arts & Crafts. The Stills put a little muscle into the track, powering their Edgy guitars with a thundering backbeat and frenzied strums. There's not much in the way of a hook but they inflate the chorus of "ohhs" and "ahhs" until it practically bursts. The title-- presumably referring first to a type of tea and a novel by African writer Amos Tutuola-- suggests two compositions grafted together, but there could be any number of songs in here: a U2-size anthem, a paranoid jam, a proggy coda. It's a bit of a mess, sure, but the Stills haven't sounded this animated in I can't remember how long.