R.E.V.O.

Audio Mixers: Howie Beck; Justin Koop; Lenny DeRose.
Recording information: B-Town Sound, Burlington, ON, Canada; Gianni's Kitchen, Canada.
Photographer: Shawn Van Daele.
Canada's Walk Off the Earth hit the world's cultural radar with a stunning video cover of Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" that featured the bandmembers (Ryan Marshall, Gianni Luminati, Mike Taylor, Joel Cassady, and Sarah Nicole Blackwood) all playing one guitar at once, and it garnered some 70 million views on YouTube in two months, an astounding testament to the Internet's immense dispersal and distribution power. R.E.V.O. (an acronym for the band's motto, Realize Every Victory Outright) is Walk Off the Earth's third album, but given the limelight they now find themselves in, it will undoubtedly serve as most folks' introduction to this wonderful, intriguing, and conceptually accomplished band. The whole set has a bright, summery vibe, full of sharp harmonies, inventive, percussive arrangements, and solid, memorable songwriting. "Somebody That I Used to Know" is here, along with ten band-written songs, and it's a refreshing pop feast, with tracks like the opening declaration "R.E.V.O.," the striking "Red Hands," and the sweet as summer air "Summer Vibe" all revealing a confident, delightfully quirky, and endlessly inventive band having fun and delivering a kind of lightly experimental sunshine pop for the 21st century, complete with huge choruses, xylophones and trinkets, maverick rhythms, and a charming, fun spirit of adventure. ~ Steve Leggett