Close your eyes and you could be forgiven for thinking that The Stills are yet another product of the NYC scene. Their music - which treads the middle ground between Interpol's doomy intensity and Longwave's more commercially-orientated widescreen rock - certainly supports this view. In actual fact the group hail from Montreal and they are proud enough to dedicate one of their tracks to the city. Keen music followers will probably already be familiar with 'Still In Love Song' but in the context of the overall feel of the album it sounds like an over-reverential tribute to the grimy post-punk UK scene. There is definitely a lot more to the band than that. 'Gender Bombs' sets the tone with its huge percussive loops heralding an almost comforting melodic strength. 'Changes Are No Good', 'Of Montreal' and 'Fevered' are based on brilliant chord changes. Whilst it's fair to say that Tim Fletcher's vocals occasionally lack a personality, he is accompanied by a dense framework of guitars and rhythm from the other band members which more than make up for any vocal shortfalls, yet on the tightly-wound tension of 'Animals And Insects' the frontman is on top form. This is Canada's answer to Sheffield's Comsat Angels and that can't be a bad thing.