“Sounds like this decade distilled: the psychedelic Shiatsu of Animal Collective, the expansiveness of Broken Social Scene and a bit of the primitivist snap-a-longs of High Places and the Blow” Fader

Although their debut album Native Speaker won’t be released until 2011 (Kanine), Montreal-via- Calgary based BRAIDS was named one of Stereogum’s 40 Best New Bands of 2010. Formed by four best friends in their last year of high school, their self-recorded and produced album is the product of months of meticulous craft-work to properly capture the band’s entrancing live performance. Delicate layering gives their experimental pop epics just enough breath to playfully explore the depth of ambient melody. And while BRAIDS dives into moments of deep obscurity and sonic experimentation, there remains embedded within the music an unforgettable pop tune.

Depending on whatever aspect of Braids’ music captures listeners at any moment, they call to mind widely varied influences. Over the course of their debut, Native Speaker, shades of Animal Collective, Bjork, Karen O, the Cocteau Twins, Siouxsie Sioux, and Yeasayer pop up in the most improbable combinations, making for unpredictable — and sometimes thrilling — listening. Opening track “Lemonade” defines the band s sound, from its intricate instrumentation to its free-flowing structure to Raphaelle Standell-Preston’s angelic voice, which coos surprisingly profane lyrics like “Have you fucked all the stray kids yet” Standell-Preston’s singing and the band s playing are both forces to be reckoned with, but for most of Native Speaker they work together instead of competing with each other. “Glass Deers” suggests a less-weird Sugarcubes (even with Standell-Preston’s insistently trilled refrain “I m fucked up”), while “Same Mum” gives the band s sound a tropical lilt. Still, some of the album s best moments happen when Braids calm down a little. The album s sensual title track shows how ably the band can make eight minutes feel like half that, with softly encompassing drones and erotically inclined vocals. “Lammicken” takes the band s sound in an enticingly different direction that sounds like filter disco and dream pop blurred together, as Standell-Preston sings “I can t stop it” in countlessly different ways. As intriguing as Native Speaker is, it s not perfect: Standell-Preston’s vocals can border on grating, and sometimes the band s approach feels formless instead of abstract. Nevertheless, Braids’ uniquely feminine experimental pop is largely a success.