The Professor and His Discoveries - Dear Ramona EP

​The Professor and His Discoveries

Dear Ramona EP
self-released; 2016

3.7 out of 5

By Matt Jensen
​

Luke Doyle (guitar/bass), Cameron Irvine (guitar/bass), Sam Vigneault (drums), Jordan Ginn  (vocals) and Simon Chidiac (bass) are The Professor and His Discoveries. The band recently released Dear Ramona EP. This is a release that fits nice and snug into the indie rock genre. 

They mention bands like The National, Arctic Monkeys and Young the Giant as minor influences but the band that came to mind more was Grizzly Bear. The first song “Cheap Wine” reminded me more so than the others of Grizzly Bear than the others from the Baroque pop composition to the vocal harmonies. 

That being said while there are certainly some references you can make to their music there is no denying that these songs are very well written and well delivered.

“Cheap Wine” is about a-minute-and-forty-five seconds in length. I’m not sure why the band didn’t flesh this song out a bit more. I thought the parts they had were strong and could have been a more robust song.

Luckily, the band delivers again with “Penguin Cinema.” It’s a catchy song with reverb laced guitars and another solid vocal performance. Lyrically I was happy to see that the band mixes a good amount of ambiguity into the picture. Ginn sings, “Read up and jot down the backdrop / Fake smiles make up for dialogue / Ten to ten that never sounds off / But then again it's always the back thought.”

I’d say “Switzerland” which drips with a bit more melancholy is the most emotionally resonant song of the four. The minimalism works out good for them as they eventually build it up into their most grand crescendo.

They close with “Ramona Flowers” which is light and carefree sounding compared to “Switzerland.” “Ramona Flowers” felt like the highlight as well as the song is most likely to get stuck in people's heads. The Strokes came to mind here minus Julian Casablancas.

​Dear Ramona EP is a solid start that builds a foundation for the band. There is a good amount of potential here. Looking forward to hearing more.

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