REVIEW: Apples In Stereo, Her Wallpaper Reverie (Spin Art) /
Of Montreal, The Gay Parade (Bar/None)
- Chelsea Spear In a blindfolded taste test, one might be surprised to learn that the Apples in Stereo co-founded the Elephant 6 Recording Company, that modern-day musical equivalent to the Bloomsbury literary salon of the 1920s. While their glucose-fueled power pop can prove highly addictive on repeat listens, their cheery vocals and catchy melodies sound drab and generic compared to the cinematic innovation of Olivia Tremor Control, or Neutral Milk Hotel's raw, absorbing hootenanny. After a few fine album's worth of twentysomething's symphonies to God, the Apples bid adieu to the indiepop world with their last indie album, Her Wallpaper Reverie, a thoroughly decent concept album.
On its own, Wallpaper has a great deal going for it. After the cheery, bite-sized pop delectables found on the band's previous efforts, it's great to hear them work with one idea for the duration of an album. The opening track, "Anything", signifies a further departure for the band with its drony textures, slow pace, and gloomy lyrics ("I would do anything to be anywhere else"). The musique-concrete collages that hold the album together are created in an intriguing and musical way, which allows them to hold up to repeat listens in a way that the Olivia Tremor Control's don't.
While the band try new ways of expressing their musical ideas, longtime fans will not be alienated by this album. Big, ringing power pop tunes punctuate the more experimental tracks -- the la-la inflected "Ruby" would not sound out of place on the AM radio charts of a different era, and Hillarie Sidney comes out from behind her drumset for an infectious vocal on "Pictures of the Moon".
If all these signs are positive, what keeps this reviewer from 100% wholeheartedly recommending Wallpaper to her readership? Well, perhaps I've been spoiled by the Elephant 6 Recording Company. In the past few years, E6 bands have been reinventing pop in intriguing and beautiful new ways, and after the twin masterpieces of Aeroplane and this year's Black Foliage, it's hard in some ways to fully accept an Elephant 6 band that merely writes good pop songs with the occasional (mildly) experimental flourish. Additionally, the Apples have always seemed like the kind of band that aren't working to the best of their abilities, or aren't sure what those are yet. The band's heart and instincts slowly move into the right direction with Wallpaper .
Meanwhile, back in Athens, Of Montreal bridge the gap between the Apples' sugar highs and the baroque psychedelia of the Olivias with their third long-player, The Gay Parade. The bright sonic colors, giddy melodies, and out-and-out strangeness make this the ideal children's album for adults who wore out their copy of the soundtrack to There's Something About Mary. While The Gay Parade is too much of a good thing all at once (I felt exhausted and dizzy after my first full listen to the album), repeat spins reveal some beautiful pop tunes, like the commitment-happy "Neat Little Domestic Life" and the historically-accurate "My Favourite Boxer". The theatricality of "The Ballad of Nickee Coco" and "The March of the Gay Parade" make for infectious listens, though they too get a bit overbearing at times. Worth a listen for fans of Os Mutantes or Jonathan Richman.
