New New Romantic Chillout
You ever do that thing where you listen to the first track on an LP and pretty much judge the whole thing? Yeah, that happened to me with this effort. 'Eyes Be Closed' made me wonder whether Moby's legal team (an amusing thought in itself) had compared it with Porcelain because there's more than a strong similarity.
With a feeling of dread, I awaited Track two, wondering which false techno act was next in the plagiarism list. However, the undulating pads on 'Echoes' dissuaded me from thinking this was a faux-covers album. And in fact, the rest of this, the first effort from the Atlanta-based twenty something, is the soundtrack to a European holiday romance. That moment when you seal the deal with a girl whose name you didn't know three hours ago, but somehow, you've connected to the point where after, you still want to talk to her. In fact, I might have even got the gender wrong- this is almost feminine in how sleepily lusty it is, it's just so effortlessly sexy.
In fact, that whole post-orgasmic chill in Iberia is the theme for the majority of the album. There are hints of love and vulnerability on 'Before' which continues in the holiday romance theme, but from the post-breakup sex point of view. Other subtle hints throughout the album ranged from Icelandic chilled pop (the Royskopp flavoured 'You and I') to the South London pace of Dirty Vegas on 'Far Away'.
In fact, that seems to be it's downfall. Most of the tracks are similar in theme, content and delivery and while a little bit of longing is nice, this level almost comes across as a bit desperate. Mumbled, ambigious vocals throughout the LP add a little as long as you don't try too hard to decipher them. Treat them instead as another instrument and the extra layer that Ernest Greene adds through his vocals make the majority of them a well-judged choice. I suppose an easy pun could follow about the similarities on individual songs diluting the whole, giving a "Washed Out" result but...erm...yeah...it's a bit new romantically wet in parts which may not fill you with confidence.
The final track was so out of step with the previous lot that I thought my MP3 player had skipped onto the next band. 'A Dedication' sounds like a cryogenic Modest Mouse, sedating it's way to the end. "Within and Without" has some bizarre bookends, with what's in the middle being some genuinely nice, flirtacious, watch the sun come up in each other's arms stuff. It's loved up and doesn't care who else knows.