AARON THACKER
Arts Writer

You don’t get very far exploring Winnipeg’s independent music scene without some mention of The Weakerthans’ John K. Sampson and his wife Christine Fellows.

The Liptonians’ Let’s All March Back into the Sea is no exception as Sampson and Fellows have their fingerprints all over it; the album is being released on their label, Head in the Sand, and the bulk of the recording was done at the studio they frequent, Prairie Recording Co. Production was taken care of by Matt Peters and Mike Petkau.

But this is really about a couple lesser-known Winnipeggers named Matt Schellenberg and Bucky Driedger who, along with a talented collective of Manitoban musicians who leave their ego out of their “song first” instrumentations, put together a cohesive and infectious assortment of pop gems on their sophomore effort.

After an intriguing — if somewhat superfluous — instrumental introduction, Let’s All March Back into the Sea glides seamlessly into the first single, “You Know I Did.” The understated and always pop-conscious instrumental arrangements on this track are reminiscent of Brasstronaut and Minotaurs, and work flawlessly with the vocal melodies. The song features lulling verses driven by a jangly acoustic guitar part, and an anthemic chorus saturated in falsetto that feels like a celebratory toast.

Later on in the record, with soulful vocals, great harmonies and an interesting choice of percussion, “Perfect Swimmers” asks you to let go. The melody draws you in like a siren’s song for the supposedly insignificant.

Another strong example of a skillfully crafted pop tune is “Ghosts in my Garden,” a tune loaded with pop culture references and an overarching sense of lonesome contemplation. It’s ending feels like waking from a daydream.

Although their pop-focused tunes are fairly appealing, it seems the songs that have a prominent and unexpected feature tend to be their strongest arrangements. Every song has a well-served central vision, but it’s the songs that have a unique concept to begin with that really take off.

“Growing Old In The City” is a perfect example of The Liptonians pushing their own boundaries. The song’s inclusion of an extremely moving gang-chant that begs for a sing-along; trumpet segments evocative of modern ska and interesting percussions keep it from getting dull.

“Calling You Out” is another interesting number and is the only track with a prominent electronic tinge. It has the distinct vibe of a “post-modern” march and evokes the image of a group of people parading down a street picking up followers as they go.

The band has a tendency to write songs that have a verse that serves as a lit fuse for the chorus’s explosiveness. The energetic and horn inundated chorus on “Lesage” is my personal highlight of the album and is easily the group’s most passion-infused moment.

The album concludes with the title track and serves as a farewell, leaving us with an album with enough strong songs to outweigh the filler. The extended instrumental outro (that may have benefited from brevity) feels almost like ascension or floating off to sea and most aptly conveys the cover art. Uncertainty and promise characterize the record’s fleeting moments as well as the band’s immediate future. The Liptonians prove that stacking a ton of instrumental flourishes onto a weak song foundation isn’t going to move anyone, but with enough strong central themes, they might just have people marching to their next show.