Mended With Gold

This tight Toronto-based trio know how to assemble anthems. Moving from softly strummed acoustic guitars to full-throated frenzy in the snap of snare—with special credit going to breakneck drummer Paul Banwatt—the band are a dynamic powerhouse with songs that are emotionally raw and direct. They have other speeds (as heard in the melodic folk of “To Be Scared”), but Mended with Gold plays to the band’s strengths by delivering one soaring chorus after another, much like on their previous two releases. They follow a musical formula, then transcend it with sincerity and intensity.