Tuesday, July 9, 2013

#938 Ted Leo and The Pharmacists - Hearts of Oak

The heart of this album is Leo's reedy keening, careening like a bottle rocket on a string, straining skyward and shooting sideward unpredictably, lending tension and erratic energy to crampy indie rock ditties. The result is a manic twist on The Dismemberment Plan, Hot Hot Heat, and the whole early-00's angular scene, and the 13 songs sound like more, if only because each shoots off in its own direction, leaving trails of new wave, dancepunk, and pop bent origamical.

The album's far from cohesive, and not altogether enjoyable, but there's thrills in electric splintering and sputtering this relentlessly fearless 3.5/5

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