iSound

“We sound like us” is the answer anyone from Greenwich Meantime will give when asked that obligatory question of who their sound is borrowed from. This is, of course, the short answer. The long form is that Greenwich Meantime plays the role of musical quilt maker with great skill, and that the many influences that are woven into the fabric seem to belong there. In fact the whole thing flows together with surprising focus for a band of young folks who’ve only been together for a year. They are admittedly rooted in the Celtic background of their Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec upbringing. “I grew up at fiddle and step-dance competitions” says Shelley Downing of her youth. “Like many other places we go, there’s a distinct culture that goes back hundreds of years. Here it’s Celtic music and culture that came from the French, Scottish, and Irish who settled the area.” This means that the music is in the blood so to speak. For singer Nick Matthew the influence goes back just a...