Montreal has the reputation of being the most European city in North America, and Montreal bands often have an air of class that probably has nothing to do with their city's reputation but still reinforces that stereotype. Much like other more famous Montreal bands, Pawa Up First make music that draws from classical music, as well as soundtracks, to make a unique blend that encompasses many different styles. Because direct comparisons to Montreal stalwarts will surely confuse many of our readers, I should instead explain that Pawa Up First make mostly instrumental post-rock that at times attempts to be bigger than life and at others is content with just sounding nice.

PUF are a band with potential, and at some point in the future they might make something really magnificent, but, after listening to The Outcome, I believe I can say that they need some time before they get there. Blending different styles is one of the things that can make an album more interesting, and it's one of the reasons why new artists draw so much interest; in this case, however, while the artist has a unique voice, it isn't particularly interesting or fresh.

One of their main influences appears to be Ennio Morricone, and some tracks, such as the first half of “Territorio,” sound like the kind of music the greatest soundtrack composer of all time would have made if he was a 21st century urbanite. “Territorio” morphs into a spanish hip hop song which sounds surprisingly good considering my distaste for hip hop and is an indication of their affinity to bastardizing genres. Meanwhile, “The Ruins” would fit perfectly into an end-of-the-world film made by George Romero. “Transit,” with its mariachi influences, brings to mind Calexico with a sense of rhythm. The presence of Latin and Western influences is evident throughout the album, even in tracks that tend to be more electronic, such as “Delusions of Grandeur” where the keyboards take center stage. What makes it all that more interesting is that they choose to open the album with a wonderful neo-classical piece (“Opening”) and continue with a Bark Psychosis-like track (“The Departure”) that lacks the desperation of the wonderful British band but is constructed in a way similar to what they used to do.

My review probably makes the album a lot more interesting than it really is, as the band doesn't really make an attempt to incorporate their various influences into an altogether new style. They move effortlessly and elegantly from one to another, but the results are either bland or enter prog-rock territory (as in “Nowhen” and the “Last Man Standing”) and become repetitive. There are also some cases in which they sound like an instrumental indie band (“The Outcome”) and while that isn't particularly uncommon for instrumental rock bands, it doesn't really make their music more interesting.

My overall impression of The Outcome is that it is an interesting album and it tries to get more attention than it probably deserves, mostly because it is so obvious the band is talented enough to do great things, but it fails to generate much excitement or make me want to revisit it.

-John Kontos