The new album from these guys finds them coasting along in a jangling indie rock side of shoegazing, with the vocals hovering in the background. They start rocking out as the second song builds and put more balls in the vocals. This brings a more rock drive to the overall sonic punch. "Country Girl" moves with more grace, and the vocals are present with more heart behind them. The drone of the guitar works well, as this might be the most accessible thing I've heard from them yet. It feels like some of the more pastoral moments of late 90s indie rock.
"Red Rocket" has a more detached swagger as the apathetic croon of the vocals bases its personality on its yawning drawl. The guitar tones on this album are very organic. I would be surprised if they did not sound like this live, though the secret weapon is the amazing mix that finds the instruments giving each other lots of room. There is a more '90s sound to "Emptiness is Everywhere." The plaintive vocal on this one floats in with more conviction, and the songwriting clicks together better than the previous song. The chorus is more Brit Pop than the lighter touch from the kinder shoegaze sounds casually strummed.
They drone on the clang of the guitar for " August Underground" before bringing things to a more intense dynamic shift, before ebbing back down. The vocals are almost an afterthought in places. Then "Small Town Cemetery" wanders off into weird indie folk. They sort of pick up where they left off with the downtrodden strum of "Mother Fucker". There is an odd, depressing quality to their music; it's subdued, similar to Elliot Smith on the last song, which is a minimalist strum. The drums eventually come in and create an almost Americana feel to this brand of indie rock. I will give this one a 9 as it's an improvement in their songwriting. I am not sure how much airplay this will get from me, but for what they are doing, the band's growing fan base should take this trip to kinder, gentler places with them. Out on Deathwish Inc.
No comments:
Post a Comment