The Martlet

Who: Library Voices

When: Tuesday, February 17, 2009; doors at 10 p.m.

Where: Lucky Bar

People might be tempted to view a band with a name like Library Voices as a nerdy indie outfit with a penchant for literature. But Regina’s 10-member rock machine is hoping to reshape the landscape of Canadian music and culture — one literary reference at a time.

“To be honest, I’m not even entirely sure when or how reading became important to me,” said Library Voices’ keyboard player and lyricist Mike Dawson. “It’s largely because I have a fascination with language and with different people’s depiction of the human experience.”

In an age where the publishing world is wrought with funding cuts, and inattentive audiences are drawn away from literature and introspection by reality television or Paris Hilton’s latest conquest, it’s difficult for bands with a higher aim to find a comfortable place within mass culture.

But Library Voices seems to have found a niche writing pop songs with relevance beyond simple love ballads and mundane lyrical content. The band is comfortable name-dropping Kafka and Vonnegut (among others) in their debut EP, Hunting Ghosts (& Other Collected Shorts), and people are starting to take notice.

“It’s tough to hide the fact that we write really poppy music,” said Dawson. “We rely pretty heavily on unique combinations of instruments and arrangements to usher away some of the bubblegum.”

During their last trip to the studio, their instruments included Dawson hitting a tin box full of children’s tambourines with a maraca.

The group’s new album, Museum of Natural History & Make Believe, was meant to be a departure from their older material, but Dawson said that he became trapped by the influence that literature plays in his life.

“I set out to try and curve back the literary references, but all of these authors and books just kept finding their way into the songs,” said Dawson. “It seemed like everything I picked up to read would inadvertently just tie in perfectly to whatever songs I was working on. I set out to get away from the references and, in the end, Murakami, Atwood, Doestovsky, Bukowski and Huxley all showed up in our new material.”

Library Voices has garnered attention from CBC Radio 3 and Spin Magazine, being named by the latter as one of the top three unsigned indie acts on the rise.Their new album is expected to bring their label, Young Soul, and the Saskatchewan music scene to prominence.

“One of the huge advantages of being blessed with press or funding is that it’s conducive to building momentum,” said Dawson of his recognition. “Whether that’s from the feedback you receive from new listeners when an article runs, or a new deadline that pops up when you are awarded a grant, it helps to keep you moving.”

Library Voices are embarking on their second tour to the West Coast and will bring their energetic brand of intellectual pop to Lucky Bar on Feb. 17 with Matt Goud and local loves Listening Party and Nail Salon.