Album Review: Majical Cloudz - Impersonator

It's perhaps a little unimaginative to attribute the age-old phrase “less is more” to the sound of Canadian duo Majical Cloudz's debut album, but there's really no better way to pinpoint what it is about this incredible album Devon Welsh and Matthew Otto have created with such a limited use of accompaniment. Impersonator is an album that gently coaxes your attention and greatly rewards those who allow themselves to become immersed in its sparse, filtered synths and emotionally-charged vocals. That said, it's damn near impossible to listen to this album and not be completely taken by its enigmatic contents.

Impersonator carries with it an irresistible yet unplaceable charm that remains constant from the onset and throughout. Even with the jarring transition from the hauntingly comforting I Do Sing For You into the considerably peppier Mister (if you could even call it 'peppy' to begin with), the cautious ebbing of white noise coupled with Welsh's rich, slightly reverberated vocals leaves you in a state of what is either disbelief or total satisfaction - or perhaps even some bizarre amalgamation of the two. It isn't until the album's particularly abrupt close that you're jolted back into reality and the sheer intensity of what you just experienced really starts to sink in.

Even with such meticulous attention to detail and an almost mathematical craftsmanship, Impersonator preserves a natural facet with the sincerity that resounds in Welsh's vocals and the honesty of his hard-hitting songwriting. As harrowing as it is beautiful, this is the kind of album that stays with you long after the final note has sounded.