The Constantines – Tournament of Hearts
The Constantines – Tournament of Hearts
(Three Gut)
It seems rather appropriate that the final release for Toronto indie label Three Gut Records would be the third and most accomplished album from Guelph’s The Constantines. It was Three Gut that helped launch the career of this talented young band, and now that they’ve signed to Sub Pop and other bands from the label are getting their due, Three Gut has essentially served its purpose.
The Cons bring things to a close with an album that shows how just far they’ve come in 5 years. For a band that has often been labelled Fugazi meets Bruce Springsteen, this album has a lot more Springsteen in it than usual — although in other ways, it seems to mirror Fugazi’s own progression on their last record, “The Argument”. Bry Webb’s gravelly vocals and poetic, world-weary lyrics have reached a zenith of maturity and resonance. The band’s unique sound is firmly established; they step into their roles with ease. Most of the songs are mellower this time around, but yet it never seems dull or tame because there’s an air of restrained energy and passion beneath it all. This is a band that seems wise beyond their years, with a bluesy swagger that is authentic and real.
While I can see some people being disappointed in the lack of screaming and angular guitars, I personally find myself more drawn to this group of songs than anything else they’ve done. Every single tune is memorable in some way. There’s something about the near-whispered vocals on “Thieves”, or the strangled cry on “Hotline Operator” that bring goosebumps to my arms every time. Adding a keyboardist to the line-up has greatly enhanced their sound as well, although mostly in subtle ways.
For me, the highlight of the album is the song “Working Fulltime”; not just because it’s one of the most energetic and rhythmically insistent tracks, but because it’s a working class anthem that epitomizes what this band is about. When they chant “We won’t be undersold”, over and over again, you feel like it’s speaking for everyone who has ever dreaded getting up for work in the morning.
I recommend everyone give this album a chance to sink in, it’s a stunning piece of work that gets under your skin. Every time The Constantines have released an album it has ended up being one of my favourite records of the year. In the short amount of time I’ve been listening to “Tournament Of Hearts”, however, I get the feeling that it will not only be a favourite not just for 2005, but for all-time. This is a timeless record that I think will still be remembered years from now. — Sean
SCORE: 
Recommended If You Like: The Clash, Bruce Springsteen, Fugazi
Comments (12)
in Toronto, one alt weekly gave it a perfect score, the other one gave it 1/5.
Posted by Goon on October 3rd, 2005since they are so blue collar, theres other bands they remind me of other than just Springsteen and Fugazi… “Working Full Time” could easily be covered by the Tragically Hip. The song before that has a U2 feel to it.
Posted by Goon on October 3rd, 2005hands down, one of the best bands out there…i can’t get enough of ‘draw us lines’ and ‘love in fear’…i had the pleasure of seeing the three gut anniversary show/sendoff, and it did not disappoint…the new songs come off great live and they even covered ac/dc’s ‘ride on’…
stated simply, i love the constantines
Posted by barker on October 4th, 2005We saw them in Hamilton a couple months ago and they did that AC/DC cover too. Cool shit. Have you heard their cover of Elevator to Hell from the Believer magazine compilation CD?
Posted by Sean on October 5th, 2005no…what did they cover?
Posted by barker on October 5th, 2005also forgot to mention that they are recording a split 12 inch with the unintended…the cons are covering some neil young songs
Posted by barker on October 5th, 2005(the cons do a wicked cover of neil young’s ‘don’t be denied’…i imagine it will be on the 12 inch…), while the unintended are covering gordon lightfoot…this sounds intriguing…
The Elevator song they cover is “Why I Didn’t Like August ‘93″. The CD also has Jim Guthrie covering “Nighttime Anytime (It’s Alright)”, and lots of other cool bands.
You can download the entire CD in 5 parts at this site:
http://www.musiccherry.com/archives/2005/08/download_the_be.htm
Posted by Sean on October 7th, 2005geez, lot of mixed reviews on it. Pitchfork is a wishy-washy thumbs up, but Popmatters gives it a 5/10, and even gave 311 a higher grade
Posted by Goon on October 11th, 2005And what are your own thoughts on the album Goon?
Honestly, I thought The Cons could do no wrong. Even if they released a terrible album I never thought I’d read a bad review. And here they go releasing an amazing album and no one digs. Why? Because it’s different? Not “punk” enough? I don’t get it.
Posted by Sean on October 11th, 2005I wasn’t that impressed with it.
Posted by JAY C. on October 11th, 2005I like what I’ve heard, but frankly so much has come out at once lately I havent given it a lot of time yet
Posted by Goon on October 12th, 2005looks like the Constantines arent the only GTA band being given the cold shoulder by Popmatters. Broken Social Scene has been called ‘a mess’ and again, lower rating than…. 311.
Posted by Goon on October 14th, 2005Leave a Reply