4 Play: Gomez, The Boy Least Likely To, Eulogies, Grammatics

May 10, 2009

Gomez - A New Tide - ATO
Focusing more, it seems, on intricate song structures this time around (as opposed to the more rawk approach of their 2006 effort, How We Operate), Gomez’ latest stacks textures and melodies in alternating layers that often seem to contradict each other in theory, but work perfectly in execution. “Other Plans” is almost a mini-modern-rock opera, while “Mix” takes the ‘60s from folk to lava lamp; and “Win Park Slope” veers from New Orleans to the symphony to the rock club. All eleven songs stand strong on their own, and together make an impressive Gomez effort.



The Boy Least Likely To - The Law of the Playground - Red Eye
Melding instruments as quirkily diverse as glockenspiel, banjo, recorder, club-worthy synths, and guitar, TBLLT knows how to bring a wide-eyed sensibility to their songs, which sometimes veer directly towards silly before being drawn back into the indie-pop fold by deft songcraft. Circus-gone-crazy sounds underscore Jof Owen’s quiet vocals on “Every Goliath Has Its David,” skippingly-arranged “When Life Gives Me Lemons I Make Lemonade” perfectly encompasses the lyrical sentiments into tune form, and “The Boy With Two Hearts” even adds in a bit of innocent hand-holding.



Eulogies - Here Anonymous - Dangerbird
Peter Walker steps away from his solo career and tries a band configuration with Eulogies, and the Los Angeles group certainly has some interesting moments on this disc. Walker knows enough to not overkill the amount of instruments or the arrangements; they most often recollect The Smiths with Walker’s pop-friendly yet sometimes mournful vocals and turns of phrase within the choruses. Lyrically, the more pensive lyrics sometimes seem to clash with the peppy tunes, but instead of being a detriment, it keeps the album from being at all boring.



Grammatics - Grammatics - Dance to the Radio
Taking their name from an indie-rock theme night they used to run, Grammatics hail from Leeds where their first single arrived in 2007. They took a couple more years to present their full-length debut album. Working with producer James Kenosha, they put a lot of time, care, and detail into these tracks, from the electronica-meets-strings “Relentless Fours” to the storytelling, dynamically-precise “Broken Wing.” It may have taken longer than expected for this set to hit stores, but for fans of attentive songwriting and production, it’s worth it.