SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE NORTHERN PIKES – TIME TO TIME

The Northern Pikes
Time To Time
Independent

In 1990, The Northern Pikes released their third album with Virgin Records, Snow In June. That album would go on to become their largest selling album, in fact, their only platinum album in Canada. It also included three sizable hits, “Girl With A Problem”, “She Ain’t Pretty”, and “Kiss Me you Fool”. In 2023, The Northern Pikes took some of the songs from that album, wrote three new ones and they have a new album, Time To Time. However, the songs are very different from Snow In June, and here on Time To Time they are presented as more acoustic songs. The songs sound different and it is an interesting take on some very classic and iconic songs.

The album opens with “Dream Away”. Here the song is a sparse, slow, reflective song rather than the pop rock sound of the original version and it works beautifully. At the core, Snow In June was full of incredible melodies that one could imagine in a more folky style, Time To Time proves that point. Even the big hits from Snow In June have been re-arranged. “Girl With A Problem” has a much more melancholic and an almost mournful sound. “She Ain’t Pretty” is transformed into a pseudo honky tonk/country feel. But again, in this new arrangement, it works perfectly for the song. “Kiss Me You Fool”, like “Girl With A Problem” is much slower and more pleading. Of the three, it works the best in this new format.

The new songs are a surprise and fans will enjoy a different sound from the band. “Only A Lover’s Dream” has a Leonard Cohen vibe and is a slow burning song. It is quite a different sound for the band and yet it fits perfectly on the album. “The Things You Saw In Me” is pure Canadiana. Wonderful violin flows in and out and the vocals are strong and beautiful. It is an emotionally-charged song about the loss of his father. The last of the new batch closes the album, “Taken”. A beautiful sparse arrangement accompanies the song and is the perfect way to end.

Rerecording songs in the studio, some of which are woven into the fabric of pop rock radio, is never an easy task. Often new versions of beloved songs are not welcomed by fans. Bands find themselves competing with themselves and nostalgia. But here, The Northern Pikes are not simply rerecording the songs, they are arranging them, and not updating but aging them, but not in a bad way. They have been transformed by an older and talented band that has been influenced by a great many other sounds/artists. Time To Time is a strong album with original and creative versions of much-loved songs.

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