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Canada\u2019s Partner<\/a> have returned with their second full-length album, Don\u2019t Give Up<\/em> (You\u2019ve Changed Records). But perhaps the best way to be introduced to their music is by checking out their fiendishly clever videos first. The bright and sparkly \u201cHello and Welcome<\/a>\u201d opens the album, and the animated video transforms co-founders Jos\u00e9e Caron and Lucy Niles (lead and rhythm guitar, respectively, though they also play other instruments) into glam rock superstars, who enthusiastically assure you their latest work will deliver plenty of great times: \u201cIt\u2019s really gonna be like a show you won\u2019t have to leave your house to go!\u201d Then they blast off into outer space and get abducted by aliens. You\u2019ll experience that kind of playfulness throughout the record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or how about \u201cBig Gay Hands<\/a>,\u201d a nice chunky rocker about finding romance at the local tavern (the singer becomes enamored by the skill with which another woman wields her pool cue), matched by a video where colorfully dressed-up hands take center stage. What\u2019s the secret behind their thick, sweet guitar sound? You\u2019ll find the origin story in \u201cHoney<\/a>,\u201d a song with a monster hook, and a video that has Caron and Niles wreaking havoc in their rehearsal space, playing 10 different characters between them (Caron\u2019s bee outfit is especially fetching).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having worked with other musicians in the past, Caron and Nile scaled back to themselves and drummer Simone TB for this release. This is indie rock with plenty of heart and soul, whether the mood\u2019s giddy or glum. \u201cCouldn\u2019t Forget\u201d is a raucous love song that unexpectedly veers into country rock. \u201cGood Place to Hide\u201d was influenced by the band\u2019s love of Rush (they\u2019ve previously covered \u201cLimelight<\/a>\u201d) and reveals the classic rock underpinnings that are evident throughout the album. \u201cRoller Coaster (Life Is One)\u201d is a contemplative piece, starting out as a piano-based number before exploding into the guitar action of the chorus, with a lyric about finding your way through troubled times. \u201cHere I Am World\u201d is a deceptively upbeat number about trying to understand the purpose of it all. \u201cCrocodiles\u201d is the dazzling closer, a song about avoiding pitfalls, that vaults from the low-key guitar strumming of the beginning to cascading walls of sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Above all, Partner finds salvation in rock \u2018n\u2019 roll. The cheery, propulsive \u201cRock is My Rock<\/a>\u201d is their manifesto, distilling all that\u2019s great about it in a concise two minutes and 19 seconds. Partner gets right to the heart of the matter, shakes you up, and has a good time doing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n