Land Of Talk

Under the name Land of Talk, Elizabeth Powell extends indie rock's frontiers while examining the restrictive pressures of social convention. The project first appeared in 2006 with Applause Cheer Boo Hiss, whose jagged, high-energy tracks and Powell's sharp, vibrato-rich vocals called to mind the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, yet the group's style soon acquired greater refinement, granting equal weight to melodic grace and forceful edge on 2008's Some Are Lakes. An extended absence followed, during which Powell weighed leaving music behind, before Land of Talk achieved a fresh start with the quietly varied meditations on mortality found on 2017's Life After Youth and the comparably inward Indistinct Conversations of 2020, both albums marked by wide-ranging textures and direct, confessional writing. Powell sustained that evolution on 2023's Performances, setting guitar aside for keyboard explorations of their identity as a non-binary artist.

Powell began composing and performing songs at age 14 in Guelph, Ontario. They later worked with the Aaron Riches Nuclear Family Band and the Valentines, also appearing as a solo artist under the name ELE_K* with a 2003 release. While studying in Concordia University's jazz program, Powell encountered bassist Blake Markle and drummer Mark "Bucky" Wheaton, forming Land of Talk in 2006 and drawing on PJ Harvey, Dinosaur Jr., and Sonic Youth for the project's direction. By the recording of the debut album, April 2006's Applause Cheer Boo Hiss, Tim Kramer had assumed bass duties. Further personnel shifts occurred in 2007 when Kramer and Wheaton departed and bassist Chris McCarron along with drummer Eric Thibodeau came aboard.

Land of Talk signed with Saddle Creek for its second album, 2008's Some Are Lakes, a broader and more tuneful set produced by Bon Iver's Justin Vernon and featuring the Slip's Andrew Barr on drums. Around the same period Powell joined Broken Social Scene as a touring member. After one tour with that group, McCarron exited to play guitar with the Dears. Bassist Joe Yarmush arrived shortly thereafter, and Land of Talk issued the Fun and Laughter EP in October 2009. While recovering from vocal-cord trouble, Powell wrote the third album, Cloak and Cipher. Released in August 2010, it included contributions from members of Stars, Arcade Fire, and the Besnard Lakes.

After Cloak and Cipher, Land of Talk entered a prolonged hiatus prompted by fatigue, misplaced recordings, and family illness. In April 2015 Powell returned to the stage for the first time in four years at Orilla, Ontario's Roots North Music Festival. Additional Land of Talk performances in 2016 preceded the May 2017 arrival of Life After Youth, an album shaped by the sounds that supported Powell's father's recovery from a stroke, among them ambient music, classical works, and the tonkori, a traditional Japanese stringed instrument. Produced by John Agnello, the record brought Wheaton and McCarron back into the lineup and featured Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley, Sharon Van Etten, and the Besnard Lakes among its participants. With Land of Talk active again, Powell began writing material for the next album in 2018. In 2019 they appeared on American Football's "Every Wave to Ever Rise." Following an early 2020 tour with Wolf Parade and the reissue of Powell's 1999 album Belle Époque, Land of Talk issued Indistinct Conversations that July. An intimate, acoustic-focused collection, the album was co-produced by the band and tracked in a studio McCarron constructed in Wheaton's basement. Powell and the group extended the themes of complex relationships and childhood trauma from Indistinct Conversations on the November 2021 EP Calming Night Partner. Land of Talk reentered the studio in mid-2022, with Powell taking production responsibilities and switching from guitar to keyboards. The outcome was October 2023's Performances, a set of long-developed statements addressing Powell's non-binary identity and refusal of people-pleasing patterns.