Pitchfork

Named after an Ontario landmass teeming with rambunctious flora and fauna (including homosapiens on holiday), Bruce Peninsula-- the band-- is a formidable force of nature in its own right. Think hurricane, earthquake, or the kind of thunderstorm that makes you crawl under the bed with your blankie. Or, more to the point: the communal quasi-religious fervor of Arcade Fire, the Polyphonic Spree, Bodies of Water and The Mae Shi.

With a bruised shout reminiscent of Peter Gabriel's, Neil Haverty leads the dozen-member Toronto collective, including an all-female choir and an art-rocking instrumental section. "Crabapples"-- like the other tracks on their rollercoastering Mountain and a Mouth LP-- is inspired by folklorist Alan Lomax's century-old roots music archives. Over the course of two-and-a-half gut-punching, foot-stomping minutes, Haverty plays tent-revival preacher to the hilt, hollering "You can't survive on just crabapples" to a cacophonous martial parade of beats, and the choir belts back what sounds like, "Tastes just fine to me!" Doesn't really matter what they're offering-- you can't help but bite.

MP3:> Bruce Peninsula: "Crabapples"
[from A Mountain Is a Mouth; out now on Bruce Trail]