Even though the Apple Crisp Music Fest is a ways away (March 18th), if you were at the Grad Club on Friday night, you were one lucky enough to experience some premature crispiness straight out of the chilly Niagara region. Performing just before David Martel (MySpace) and The Wooden Sky, Matt Sajn set an evening precedent of lush musical prettiness, prettiness that reminds us that music is most universal when it’s downright specific. And Matt makes no excuses: he’s operatically in love with Fenwick, Ontario. Experience more of this haggard love affair here, or drop by ENGL386 every other Thursday – he’s the one copying off my quiz while I pretend not to notice. There’ll be a song about it someday. -Robyn

I first saw The Wooden Sky last semster opening for The Acorn at The Grad Club, along with a Toronto favourite of mine, Ohbijou. Even as an opener The Wooden Sky, formerly Friday Morning’s Regret, easily outshone my favourite Ohbijou numbers and supposed heavy-hitters, The Acorn. But they didn’t do it by out-muscling them, after all the latter rock a lot harder and the former pack some breathtaking string arrangements. The Wooden Sky simply commanded you to listen closely, with stripped down ballads where down-tempo melodies were perfectly matched to the tragedy of lead singer Gavin Gardener’s lyrics and the power of his voice. Now months later in March, headlining the show, they drew a larger, and more attentive crowd than their former tour-mates. It seems that their following is finally picking up, perhaps not with a lot of speed, but with a kind of unstoppable momentum reminiscent of the force of the material on When Lost at Sea. These guys might not ever be Indie starlets, but with the quality of their songwriting they are sure to at least become a Canadian favourite. -Justin

From the album When Lost at Sea: The Wooden Sky – The Wooden Sky

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The Wooden Sky – This Bird Has Flown

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Photos courtesy of Jess Swift and Robyn: