Lead vocalist and guitarist Warren Spicer is easily recognizable in Montreal as an increasingly sought-after producer, guitar hero, and mustachioed gambler. Matthew Woodley (aka “The Woodman”) handles the rolling backend of the trio on drums with Graceland-like soul (and headband), and Nicolas Basque rounds out the group on guitar and bass, having abandoned his acclaimed career as a theatre composer for imminent rock glory. Originally known for an acoustic, instrumental roots sound following a self-titled recording in 2005, their full-length debut, Parc Avenue, reveals their impressive growth into an epic-rock-pop-soul train that rivals anything crawling out of Canada today. The eleven- song opus weaves in and out of anthems and ballads, at times making grand gestures, but mostly nodding at real-life moments encountered during the album's conception. From friends' weddings and sewing buttons, to dungeon-like jam spaces and Portuguese soccer fans taking over Mile End in Montreal, Parc Avenue is ultimately a love-letter to their Montreal neighborhood, friends and lovers that inspired it. Recorded entirely to analog tape at the Treatment Room and Studio Carillon Tropical (Spicer's apartment), Parc Avenue is filled with everything from classic seventies guitar tones, intricately orchestrated pop, and dirty, epic post-rock. The instrumentation includes piano, guitar, pedal steel, a host of percussion, topped with flourishes of auto harp. Neighborhood friends who lend their talents to the record include violinist Sarah Neufeld, country songbird Katie Moore, the Ideal Lovers, a moonlighting cheerleading squad, a ringer horn section, and a family choir. Rapidly gaining a reputation for their ferociously large live shows, Plants and Animals have recently shared bills with Wolf Parade (including US dates in August 2007), Patrick Watson, Akron/Family, Calexico, Iron & Wine, Andrew Bird, and Grizzly Bear. The US national tour is slated to coincide with the album’s release and with SXSW in March 2008.