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Vancouver indie-music scene heavy-hitter Cary Pratt, aka Prairie Cat, has pulled up his sleeves and stepped up the production on his second full-length, It Began/Ended with Sparks. A follow up to the sweet bedroom pop debut of Attacks!, Sparks is fuller, more diverse collection of songs. The album is sprinkled with booming orchestral instrumentation, while maintaining the fun, lightheartedness of Prairie Cat’s piano pop.
Conceptually, It Began/Ended with Sparks refers to Pratt’s last two years. Following a girlfriend to relocate on the other side of the country, Pratt’s heart was soon scorched in the aftermath of a fire. He lost a love and his most of his belongings, including recording equipment and the initial tracking for this album. Broke and essentially homeless, Pratt quickly returned to his hometown of Kelowna, BC, where he worked long hours to make enough money to replace his gear. When he finally had a functioning recording set-up in place, Pratt buckled down and tried to re-produce his original tracks while pouring his heart and experiences into his new compositions. While arranging the songs on It Began/Ended with Sparks, Pratt, a trained drummer, focused on rhythmic variation. This input makes for a dynamic compilation of songs, some jazzy (“Get Off”), others proggy (“Meanest Genius”), classic pop songs (“Just Cuz”), or a schmaltzy cabaret number (“Sun Away”). While recording Sparks, Pratt played keys and drums while inviting the talents of Montag (Antoine Bedard) for string and Moog duties, Ryan Dahle and Bend Sinister’s Dan Moxin on guitar, Jon Rae Fletcher’s Denver Rawson and Hidden Camera’s Shaun Brodie on horns. |
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