For all the attention paid to multiple Canadian indie rock bands, there is one that has seemingly slipped through the cracks. Plants and Animals, the powerful three piece from Montreal, created one of the strongest records of the decade though it seems continue to fly under the radar: Parc Avenue. The group’s excellent 2008 debut is still a disc that blows me away each time I hear it. The songs are long, with many reaching seven minutes, but there aren’t any forced moments or unnecessary noodling. Lead singer and guitar player Warren Spicer writes and sings in a dramatic style reminiscent of fellow Canadians Arcade Fire on the album’s 11 tracks. The whole first half of the disc is amazing, opening with the charging “Bye Bye Bye” up until the album’s highlight “New Kind of Love.” The song is a multi-part opus that touches on multiple genres over its nearly eight minute lifespan. While their first tour through Minneapolis drew a depressingly meager crowd, they seemed to draw a lot of positive attention with their blistering set at the 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival. They debuted some new songs that sounds excellent, and hopefully the follow up to this amazing album will come out soon.

Plants and Animals “New Kind of Love” (mp3)

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Also: More from Culture Bully’s Best of the Decade