REVIEW: The Ladybug Transistor, The Albemarle Sound (Merge)
- Tim Hulsizer
It's a tribute to the power of this band's vision that one can scarcely draw similarities between The Ladybug Transistor and Gary Olson's earlier group Iron Works. Ladybug consists of Olson (a man of many instruments), Jennifer Baron (ex-Saturnine) Jeffrey Rush Baron, Sasha Bell, San Fadyl, and Mike Barrett. The overall tone of the disc is one of a laid-back Saturday afternoon, cruising about with the top down. Hell, one of the songs is titled "The Automobile Song". Which isn't to say the music is mindless; far from it. In fact, it's one of the densest, most consistently intriguing pop albums I've heard in 1999.
With songs like "Oriental Boulevard" (the opening number) and others, The Ladybug Transistor use trumpets like they're back in style, evoking images of Pet Sounds and Eric Matthews simultaneously. There are quiet moments with violins on the album and playful spots with whistle, organ, saxophone and more. The Albemarle Sound is definitely on the retro tip, but it never grates like the self-conscious, "we're-so-ironic" music by Ladybug's contemporaries. The best part of this disc is that you get a distinct personality from the band, something I've heard lacking in some other 90's music of this kind.
Other standout tracks include "Aleida's Theme," a wonderful, loping puppy of a song, and the pseudo-Spanish instrumental "Cienfuegos." As it is with the best releases, this album makes me want to have their two previous full-lengths. The Ladybug Transistor are playing with Belle & Sebastian (the other retro act everyone should own) in England quite soon, and it's not hard to hear why. From the lush, green 60's-style artwork to the closing notes of the trumpet, this band has definitely hit its stride in the pop music world.
