Brasstronaut

Vancouver's Brasstronaut aren't just a bunch a guys with a clever name; they are actually a trumpet- and flugelhorn-led seven-piece pocket symphony. Their debut EP, Old World Lies, opens with the promisingly titled "Requiem for a Scene," featuring an expansive intro courtesy of trumpeter Bryan Davies (who comes off more Mazurek than Miles), followed by pianist/vocalist Edo Van Breemen's manifesto against a scene that adores Vice Magazine, cocaine, Pitchfork and cellphones (?) equally. Follow-up track "Insects" injects moody melodies and inchworm piano into eight-and-a-half minutes of stiff musings, while the title track unveils the EP's best moments, both lush and desolate, much like Elvis Costello's classic "Shipbuilding." On the surface, Brasstronaut's modus operandi suggests that Old World Lies should excite and challenge the listener but by the last notes of the EP, you are left with nothing more than a regular indie rock album, but with horns.