Elliott Brood – Days Into Years review

From the opening chords of Days Into Years, the third full-length album from Toronto-based folk-rock outfit Elliott Brood, you feel like you’ve been listening to it forever. And I was able to listen to it repeatedly for days without feeling like it was “played out”. This isn’t to say that the album is a classic that will never get old. Rather, it’s so easy on the ears that it blends into the background and becomes a sort of white noise. I found myself irritated not by the sound of of the band, but by the fact that I tuned out almost immediately.

It would seem that Elliott Brood are something of a national treasure in training. At least on paper. They are a CBC Radio favourite and they played at the Olympic Village for the 2010 Winter Olympics in British Columbia. Their debut album, Ambassador, was nominated for a Juno in 2006 and they won the Galaxie Rising Star Award that year for Best New Artist. Another Juno nomination came in 2009 for their sophomore effort, Mountain Meadows, which was also shortlisted for the coveted Polaris Prize.

I wanted so much to love this album, the idea of which was so endearing. As the story goes, Elliott Brood were on their first European tour in 2007, when they happened upon a cemetery in France for Canadian soldiers who had died in battle during the First World War. Profoundly touched, the band vowed to make an album drawing from the experience and honouring fallen soldiers. Now how can you not want to get behind that??

Unfortunately, Days Into Years is nothing to write home about. Within its genre, it fits in but fails to stand out. The standout track, “Northern Air”, feels like a weekend trip to the cottage in a beat-up Volkswagen with your best friends. A long weekend. An honourable mention goes to “If I Get Old”, about a soldier’s sweet dream of living the simple life.