Early in the piece, Heart Weighs A Tonne leads us into the grandiosity I’m talking about, but do NOT forget the earthy approach I’ve also mentioned. It winds up exploding after a snare roll build up, and some… now let me be pragmatic, great orchestration, all amidst Rob McDowell’s… well, the best way I can describe it is palpable honesty, which was just as palpable amidst debut LP The Great Depression, but we’re dealing with a far more sonically direct unit here, for better or worse.
What I mean is, this album knows exactly what it is doing, so the arrangements are far more conservative, but in no way less bombastic. The polish is commendable, but the sense of orchestral abandon is gone.
On top of this, expressive violinist Emily Taylor lends some striking vocals to a few songs, most notably En Masse, with winding pastoral piano breaks and a vast instrumental dynamic which almost steals the whole damn show. Hell House is a spirited jaunt with an Oberst-esque delivery, a kitschy little falsetto refrain thrown in for good measure and a steaming sax solo.
Amidst the sparkly rural songcraft, there’s also a sparing use of dance beats all the way through this outing; it works, even more so when the album’s crown, Harvest Song, storms in with four-to-the-floor drive, organically jarring guitar, sufficiently blippy beat programming and a triumphantly moving lyrical offering. Perfect amalgamation. worlds collide, et cetera. Take heed!
Best Track: Harvest Song
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: DECEMBERISTS, ICECREAM HANDS, BRIGHT EYES
In A Word: Earnest
