Recording information: Studio Le Carillon Tropical; The Treatment Room.

Photographer: Shane Ward.

On their second full-length release, Montreal's Plants and Animals channel the spirit of a disparate batch of their Canadian cousins. While many of their tunes are based on earthy, relatively lo-fi, country/folk-inflected structures that evoke HARVEST-era Neil Young, the band simultaneously harbors loftier ambitions. For all their organic qualities, the songs sometimes feed into arrangements that work on a grand, ARCADE FIRE-type scale, elegantly unfurling with prog and psych touches that make PARC AVENUE an endearingly unpredictable experience.