Starting with "Antipodal Point" with a nice little instrumental, reminiscent in some ways to "A Thousand Leaves" era Sonic Youth, and then kicks into "Tuckerman's Ravine" with a foot stomping beat. There is a real Sebadoh vibe going on here too. They also make nice use of a theremin.
"Low Card" is a totally surfed out love lorn song. The reverb is perfect to capture the head space of beach bumming in southern California. By the time "Ferris Wheel" comes around I think I am seeing this album for what it is, original tunes drenched in throw-back feel. It's all so "classic" but simultaneously modern.
Synths come into play on "Hours" (or heavily synthesized guitar) and it is not distracting, but rather a new layer of sound that the band uses greatly to their advantage. "Across the Lake" kicks it all up a few notches for an intensity not seen until now. Again, it is not a super drastic change, but still different from most other elements found here.
Ending on an upbeat note, "There's a Cave" feels like an early Shins song, filled with wonder and touches of wet reverb. This whole recording is so nice for the Summer!
Pick this up on The Fern's Bandcamp, or on cassette when you see them live (allegedly there are 7 bonus tracks on the cassette!)
Great review...for a great new release
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