ALBUM REVIEW : Scott Lanaway - Mergers & Acquisitions

Toronto's Scott Lanaway had been completely under the radar for me, so when his album came in my mailbox, it languished in purgatory (on my shelf) for a while during the busiest period of school season. It wasn't until one morning, when I absentmindedly popped it in the stereo in the shower, that I perked up my ears to Lanaway's airy yet beat-driven pop.

The new album, Mergers & Acquisitions, is Lanaway's second, the first being 2006's Answering Machine Diaries. It opens with "Let's Be Together," a track that starts with a simple snare/kick-drum beat before expanding into spacey keys and Lanaways' light voice. Through the album's entire 13-track journey, the listener is led by an almost constant hypnotic beat, characterized by a strong electronic-laden soundscape. There are also more acoustic-driven tracks, but the strength of the album is in its beat-driven, mood-infused quality. The atmospheric and comically-named "Oprah, God Wants You To Have a Private Jet" is a highlight; positively floating off into the air, dreamy but not sleepy.

The album is available in its entirety for streaming on scottlanaway.com, and is available on iTunes, Amazon and your local record store.

Some tracks off the album:

"Oprah, God Wants You To Have a Private Jet":


"1333"