This is pretty interesting stuff, largely in the sense that I don't know where exactly to begin in trying to describe it. Despite drawing on a number of influences that could be tied to indie rock, shoegazer, and contemporary "alternative rock" or whatever (among others), this music somehow manages to be schizophrenic enough to jump from pulsing basslines and jarring dissonant chords to swirling clean guitars with lots of reverberated effects and droning layers. And let's not forget the unique female lead vocals, which are quite atypical of any form of music that actually "rocks" on some level, instead offering a tactfully manic yet restrained form of raspy crooning that has (not inaccurately) been compared to Edie Brickell. All of this results in an odd concoction that's inviting in its curiosity, if nothing else, though I have to confess that the vocals sort of make the record for me. It's not that the music is "bad" at all, I enjoy it, it's just that something about the music falls short of achieving the same emotion as the vocal performance, and too often it feels like the band fails to pick up the pace or toss in a little more energy to keep things moving - instead opting for a lot of slow, persistent waves that ebb and flow gradually over time. "Hobo Detail Shop" definitely starts out with more of a jangly, rocked out eccentricity to it, and that's a good step, but a decent chunk of the track falls back on the droning guitar effects heard so much elsewhere, while only the drumming keeps the pacing more uptempo. The succinct "Neon" is probably my favorite song overall, as it crams a great amount of diversity into a compact timeframe without neglecting a sense of cohesion, whereas "The Clowns Were Hilarious" succeeds at the other end of the spectrum by taking the band's penchant for slow, chilled out passages to extremes: Running six minutes and taking just under two minutes before the vocals join in after ambient throbs and distant guitar work create and ethereal foundation for the remaining elements - eventually making the gradual build more powerful and deliberate than most of the other tracks. "You're Only Confident in Your Insecurities" is the other piece that really starts to rock at one point with some of the most grating distortion - a strong change of pace, especially considering it's not even an approach that I'd consider to be among the band's true highlights! The recording is basically in fine order. The rhythm section is nice and warm with a great sense of natural density, the guitars are bright and sound efficient in all forms, be it chorused clean passages or acerbically dirty distorted chords, and everything tends to blend well in the mix. Obviously, as I touched on earlier, the vocals are a bit of a powerhouse here, so it might not hurt for the instrumentation to become louder and more enveloping - but it would take some finesse to do so in a manner that wouldn't overshadow those vocal strengths. The packaging is printed entirely in maroon ink on matte cream colored paper, and I have to admit feeling that the appearance is a little less interesting and engaging than the music, so due to the presentation I was actually sort of expecting less from this disc than it ended up delivering. The lyrics don't necessarily do much for me, but I have to admit enjoying their quirkily abstract openness, which really is pretty creative and indicative of the peculiar nature of this band's approach. "You were born with a valentine mouth, a real sound. When no one was looking, you snuck in and you listened..." I can't totally make up my mind with this one. It's one of those CD's where I can really see the potential that it holds, so I want to like it even more than I do, but they haven't quite blossomed into the powerhouse that their talents could unite to create. Close, and I'll damn sure be looking forward to seeing where they go from here, but I'm not quite sold just yet. This one's still worth looking into, though. This band really could end up doing amazing work.
[Flameshovel]
Running time - 31:43, Tracks: 9
[Notable tracks: The Best Day in History in Ever, Neon, The Clowns Were Hilarious]
Flameshovel - http://www.flameshovel.com
