Killing Fields of Ontario have a gift for turning the unspoken fears and realities of life into a fluid musical product. Combining tender progressions with climactic eruptions of madness, their new album ‘How the World Ends’ is at times elevating in its honesty and beauty, and at others wholly scornful of emotive truths. Wonderfully diverse elements of leftfield pop and contemporary folk are hardened by an immutable grit that spits and attacks, as showcased in its leading single, ‘Cloud’.
‘Cloud’ is a whirlwind of lament delivered with an urgency that will blow you away; its tortured plea reluctantly accepts the energetic orchestration offered by the proficient rhythm section providing the listener with a certain ambiguity. At first offering you its hand, Cloud promptly takes you by the arm on a journey through the warmest of acoustics and the most sensitive of themes.
HTWE, due to be released October 28th is decorated with a shimmering melancholy, reminiscent both in palette and texture; of the orchestral grandeur of Broken Social Scene, while other tracks demonstrate stylistic versatility as well as a more streetwise modern angst like Frightened Rabbit’s ‘Pedestrian Verse’ or the seasoned insight and worldly lyricism of Interpol.
Other influences include hints of We Are Augustines, Arcade Fire and Local Natives. In the arena, the band have shared stages with Sparrow and The Workshop, Broken Records, Chris Mills and Mount Eerie.
This is a band who clearly have a wonderful ability to engage with dark emotions, yet can still format to become radio darlings. Tom Robinson recently hailed them as ‘long-standing 6Music Introducing favourites’ and ‘Tired of Being a Man’, the frontrunner on their last record, was in Amazing Radio’s ‘Top 20’ for a month in summer 2011.
The upcoming record was produced and mixed by the band’s own Tom Loffman – whose album credits as engineer include VV Brown, Idlewild, and Billy Bragg – having cut his teeth working alongside some of the county’s top producers in Phil Brown (Robert Plant) and Dave Eringa (Manic Street Preachers). With all tracks mastered by Ed Woods (Bloc Party, The Futureheads), this is all sure evidence that ‘How the World Ends’ will be as enthralling a listen as its titled suggests.