Meet Me At the Muster Station

PS I Love You

I'm gonna send a little love to Kingston, Ontario today and tell you about PS I Love You. I saw them open for Born Ruffians in Peterborough one time, just a duo but they overcame that by playing super loud. I was immediately impressed by Paul Saulnier who played these rippin' guitar solos and catchy riffs, all while singing and playing a bass foot pedal. I ended up picking up their 7" single at the show which was sadly the only music they had available, but it wouldn't be long before their debut full-length Meet Me At the Muster Station was put out by Paper Bag Records later that year. I finally got to hear more.

Their debut, I will admit, is very rough around the edges. I think I remember reading somewhere that the record was recorded in the band's rehearsal space, nowhere near a pristine recording environment. The sound is ultra crunchy, thanks mostly in part to all the fuzz piled onto the guitars. I remember taking a peak at the stage before they played, the only pedals that graced the stage were three Electro-Harmonix Big Muffs, and I wouldn't put it past Saulnier to turn all three of those babies on at the same time for some searing feedback or a sound so broken up that a nearly all the signal is lost. Just listen to the opening moments of Get Over to get an idea of what that might sound like. Then there's the matter of Saulnier's vocals. They're eccentric, certainly impassioned, but they are not tuneful by any stretch of the imagination. I can see his off-key tremble being a heavy point of contention for a lot of people, only being able to get through the first thirty seconds of the album's opener before having to turn it off. To me though, I find them almost endearing in a way. They have a little punk, laissez-faire energy to them that I think plays really well with the blaring guitars.

Vocals aside, Meet Me At the Muster Station packs very memorable songs and awesome guitar work. Breadends is a rager with super messy, distorted guitars which really shine in the chorus section as Saulnier strings together one incredible guitar lick after another. The first half of Butterflies and Boners drones away and has this very steady, militaristic beat. After a brief pause, Saulnier unleashes these rapid-fire pull-offs as a bass organ carries on where the droning guitars left off. Facelove is another fantastic track that begins initially on the cleaner side of things. Saulnier sings about unrequited love - a common lyrical theme on the record - in which he likens the love he receives to various things thrown in his face, like a delicious glass of wine for example. After Saulnier is finished spilling his feelings vocally, he spills what's left with an extended, forlorn guitar solo that would feel absolutely devastating if the tempo wasn't so upbeat. Lastly, there's Get Over which is stylistically quite different from the rest of the record, easily the most accessible track on the record. For one, the percussion on this track is heavily processed (maybe sequenced) and it is instantly danceable. Later, when that fuzzy guitar riff kicks in, it's like being at a house party where everyone's enjoying a rock rave; exactly as portrayed in the song's music video. If anything, I can see fans of Death From Above getting behind this track.

The duo went on to put out two more records, but with the slightly cleaner production, even I had a difficult time getting past the vocals. Maybe it translates better live, where that electric feeling came over me as I watched them play; a feeling that was later extended to their first record which kept those same aesthetics. Or maybe, I didn't give it a fair chance and should perhaps go back and give it another try. In any case, I recently reaffirmed to myself that this is a great rock record with stellar riffs, pounding drums, and exhilarating noise. Now go give Kingston, Ontario some love of your own and check it out.