Octoberman | id

Fortresses (2009) – Octoberman’s third full-length – saw Marc Morrissette and his band distancing themselves further from any notion of comfort or security. While the evocative title certainly lent itself well to Octoberman’s formidable new sound, it also allowed the record’s frequent instances of aching vulnerability to catch an unsuspecting listener completely unaware. Marking Octoberman’s most cohesive and adventurous effort to date, Fortresses revelled in the ghosts that emerge and raw nerves that are exposed when old defences fall. Quite appropriately, after completing an album that documented “endings” with such openness and aplomb, Morrissette brought his extended tenure in Vancouver...