Keith Canisius - Ferris Wheel Makeout

Some might remember back to 2007’s year end list for the blog and one of the records ranked somewhat highly on the list was an album by the Danish shoegaze/dream-pop group Rumskib. It was very nearly my favorite shoegaze related record of the year, only being barely beaten out by Airiel’s excellent full-length. Well one of the main creative forces behind Rumskib, Keith Canisius, has emerged early this year with his debut solo album. The record, which is titled Ferris Wheel Makeout, was just released this past February on the Japanese label Quince and has since been released digitally through Darla Records in March making it their very first digital release.

Unsurprisingly Ferris Wheel Makeout shares a bit in common with Rumskib. However, there is a notable added element of electronic drum programming here that loosens up the songs a bit and allowing Canisius to not have to completely rely on pushing the melodies to the absolute limit like on the Rumskib album. Although I quite enjoyed it, I think that was one of the main criticisms of that record from other listeners, which was understandable. The added electronics do a nice job of giving this album a slightly different feel and probably a satisfying outlet for Canisius. Helping him out somewhat on the album with some of the programming was Jonas Munk (Manual), which for the most part Ferris Wheel Makeout falls comfortably within that Manual and Ulrich Schnauss mold. In the end Canisius’ solo debut comes off as a solid midway between the hazy/ambient qualities of the aforementioned artists and Rumskib’s heavily Cocteau Twins synth influenced dream-pop. It’s definitely worth checking out for anyone that is already fans of any artists/bands mentioned in the post or just this style of music in general.

Keith Canisius – Far From [MP3]

For anyone looking to pick up the CD version of Ferris Wheel Makeout, then head on over to the excellent Tonevendor or Darla to do so. Anyone that would prefer the digital version can get it from the usual suspects of Emusic and Amazon.