Get Bleak

Jangle-pop conservationists Ducks Unlimited flashback to the wiry guitars, snappy clothes, and book smarts of groups like The Go-Betweens and The Verlaines. Ducks Unlimited, formed around singer Tom McGreevy, are from Toronto. The blind listening of their first singles produced by Josh Korody (Weaves, Fucked Up) and Shehzaad Jiwani (Grays) would have made us rather sideways on the side of New Zealand or Australia. Indeed, in the wake of the endearing The Goon Sax or the remarkable Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Canadians are already presenting themselves as the new natural heirs of The Go Betweens, The Chills, or The Verlaines. This is their first 7" EP, the record that should soon be making a name for themselves among the elite of the international jangle-pop. It somehow manages to seamlessly combine the slightly edgy, cool distance of any number of late '80s Flying Nun Records bands, with the modern-day indie chic of second generation The Go Betweens bands like The Goon Sax, albeit with a bounce and energy that hints more at the latest Brooklyn scene.