The Dark Leaves

You could applaud Matt Pond for somehow staying on the periphery of indie rock discussions despite nominal sonic differences between him and, say, Duncan Sheik. But ultimately that puts The Dark Leaves in a position to be judged against music that has so much more to offer. The project's shortcomings are even more pronounced this time out since The Dark Leaves sounds like it's striving and somewhat succeeding in being the band's most rhy thmically vital record. Leaves' first third tries to pump itself up with double-time, handclap-sparked rhythms owing something to polite church revivals ("Starting") and rockabilly ("Running Wild", which gives a nod to Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"). But neither comes anywhere close to generating actual friction amidst such downy arrangements. These are mostly compositions of "roots" instruments, including acoustic guitars, pedal steel, and violins. But a cooling wash of synth pads and reverb makes everything flow like a shot of Jäger down an ice luge-- smooth but sickly sweet and mostly numbing. Indeed, there's a narcotic effect to sleepy weepers like "Brooklyn Fawn" and "Specks", so when the ca. 2000 Brit-rock of "Ruins" hits a couple of strange flatted notes on its way up the piano scale, it's a jarring but welcome display of energy.

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