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Peter La GrandAlbums ReviewedFalling Down In Place (2005)Duende (2007) Falling Down In Place(2005)Halifax born, Vancouver based singer/songwriter Peter La Grand learned his trade road-tripping across America as a solo artist and as part of the band Bunkbed Nights. La Grand cites Crosby, Stills, Nash, Iron, Wine, and Cat Stevens as influences, but his debut record Falling Down In Place is more consistently sombre in tone than any of the above, while La Grand's vocals and lyrics are markedly more world-weary than your average debutant. While La Grand's Christian faith is integral to the album, Falling Down In Place is also marked with genuine pain; rather than unbearably staged pathos like Bright Eyes, or inescapable darkness like Joy Division, La Grand's emotions are believably conveyed, but there's also room for hope for his characters. The album's arrangements are marked by minimalist and key drumming, and instead the album is dominated by La Grand's voice and acoustic guitar, which are augmented with harmony vocals and somewhat unconventional instrumentation such as glockenspiel and accordion. Apart from one brief moment of levity, the bluesy goofing off of 'Hell Hound Part One', Falling Down In Place is intensely po-faced and sincere. Additionally, it quite possibly has the distinction of being the only album in the recorded canon of Western music to withhold its biggest hook until its last five seconds - the "baby we can talk about it" conclusion to the tense 'In Memoriam' is the album's single most memorable moment. The best song though, is 'Scars', with its lengthy soul searching ("Baby you don't have it together/So stop lying please") and empathy. I'm not just recommending Falling Down In Place merely because La Grand's a friend of a friend - he really is a talented singer/songwriter who's well worth discovering. Check out http://www.peterlagrand.com for some free song downloads and more information. 
 Duende(2007)After the introspective Falling Down In Place, Duende takes a more expansive musical approach and allows an almost completely separate part of La Grand's personality to take precedence. There's more of a band feel, with musicians on Rhodes and electric guitar allowing the songs to go into jams, while the frequent guitar solos are almost reminiscent of Counting Crows, falling somewhere between pop and country rock. 'Evil Intent' is spookily reminiscent of The Rolling Stones' 'Sympathy For The Devil', right down to the stuttering, disjointed guitar solo. The first side of Duende presents an altogether more extroverted La Grand, with punchier arrangements and more universal lyrics, although remakes of 'Proposition' and 'Face Value', and more introspective new material like 'Say A Prayer', ensure that the second side is more reminiscent of Falling Down In Place. While the more direct approach of Duende is disarming after the classily low key Falling Down In Place, at least a couple of songs here are far more immediate than anything on the latter. Opener 'Judas' explores the fate of the disciple who betrayed Jesus ("and the righteous never know the weight the damned must bear"), with its bright organ part transforming it from pensive reflection to salvation ("One day soon the damned and the righteous will stand on that judgement floor/And they will see.....I did it for all of them"). 'Send An Angel' steers closest to cheesy country-pop, but it's still a fine song, as La Grand uses his high register to great effect on the soaring conclusion. La Grand's empathy is displayed on the pretty, acoustic 'Fix', while the low key 'Say A Prayer' is another highlight. Superficially Duende is more approachable than its predecessor, but the lyrics aren't exactly bursting with joy; 'Promises' documents a break up while La Grand wrestles with his own inadequacies in 'Say A Prayer' ("Say a prayer for the lonely, say a prayer for the weak/I'm feeling too mean to believe, so if you think of it pray for me"). While it's a little more crass and disjointed than the tight Falling Down In Place, Duende features some songs that are more fascinating than anything on its predecessor, while its widened scope suggests all exciting sorts of possibilities for La Grand's musical career.
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Written 2001-2007, Graham Fyfe
