Mysteriously ushering forth from the chilly climes of Ontario, Finnr’s Cane are an intriguing prospect indeed. Given their somewhat eccentric 3-piece line-up (guitarist/vocalist ‘The Bard’, cellist/keyboard player ‘The Slave’ and drummer ‘The Peasant’), one could be forgiven that we are dealing with the Canadian answer to Dornenreich and I guess it’s true that there are elements of the Austrian’s sense of dynamics and grandiose artistry to be found here. Finnr’s Cane nevertheless present very much their own interpretation of the (by now firmly coined) ‘pine-scented’ post-black approach which thus far seems to have grabbed the underground by the throat without letting go.
With the continued proliferation of luminaries such as Alcest, Agalloch, Wolves in the Throne Room and the like, it could easily be assumed that ears would be starting to tire of a by now familiar palette of mournful strumming, glittering clean guitar breaks and ethereal vocals but thirty seconds of ‘Snowfall’ is enough to convince you that this could not be further from the truth. Put quite simply, Wanderlust is an excellent record, an evocative, meandering, melancholic journey through snow-drenched pine forests that seems to echo with a palpable sense of lost longing. If this sounds a little pretentious then it is meant to as Finnr’s Cane seem determined to envelop the listener with waves of layered chords and distended, roiling drum patterns. Vocals by and large are almost inaudible, spectral choirs and distant howls swirling across the vastness of the band’s instrumental vision which is rendered all the more affecting by the wonderfully appropriate reverb-laden production.
Subtleties abound too – The Slave’s contributions may be relatively minimal in appearance but are all the more effective with the gentle piano underpinning ‘A Winter for Shut-Ins’ and the rasping cello that lends real emotional weight to the clean guitar cadences of ‘Glassice’ proving standout moments. Nevertheless, it’s The Bard (or Daren Favot to his chums) who carries the majority of this record, the myriad weaving chord progressions and gentle picking demonstrating a genuine understanding of haunting melody. Whilst it’s clear that Finnr’s Cane owe a real debt to Agalloch at this stage (The opening bars of ‘The Lost Traveller’ could almost BE Agalloch), there are few in this genre who do not and when the three-piece launch into the final one-two of ‘Eternal’ and ‘House of Memory’, the icy, passionate tones subsume your attentions fully and highlight that, at this early stage in their career, Finnr’s Cane are already masters at producing genuinely reflective black metal.
http://www.myspace.com/finnrscane
