At the tender age of twelve I distinctly remember combing my Dad’s record collection and making some startling discoveries. This handlebar moustached, cardigan wearing, Dad-joke telling man was in the possession of albums by The Rolling Stones, Jethro Tull and Cream. Could it be? Could my Dad actually have been cool once upon a time? As confronting as this realisation was, it meant I did get to enjoy (read ‘steal’) some brilliant albums of the sixties and seventies.

Had Parc Avenue been sitting amongst that pile, my Dad’s coolness factor would have grown even further. However rather than a record of the early seventies, this CD has just arrived in early 2009. But far from seeming out of date, Plants and Animals have arrived just at the right time. Recently bands such as Blitzen Trapper and Fleet Foxes have paved the way for this re-emergence of folk-rock much and hell, Neil Young even headlined Big Day Out for crying out loud. Suffice to say, Plants and Animals are striking while the folk-rock iron is hot.

As if carrying the indie-folk card wasn’t cool enough, these crazy kids call everyone’s favourite indie haven, Montreal, their home town. Home to other uber-cool indie kids Arcade Fire, Stars and Wolf Parade, it’s easy to visualise a gang involving secret handshakes, an unspoken dominance over the city’s op-shops and the swapping of influences and instruments over beers in a smoky inner-city bar.

And Plants and Animals have certainly benefitted from these musical and geographical influences on Parc Avenue. Stand out tracks include: ‘Faerie Dance’ which builds with a soulful chorus and Nick Cavesque soaring strings; ‘New Kind of Love’ which see the Arcade Fire comparisons come to life, with booming vocals aided by Polyphonic Spree style harmonies and power; and ‘Mercy’s’ hands-in-the-air gospel style chorus and hand claps.

An album with a distinct nod to the past, Parc Avenue refuses to settle into its slippers and lie back in the Jason Recliner. Plants and Animals prove that 2009 could just be the year of Dad-folk-rock. - Red Paint