The Autumns- The Autumns

When I first put on The Autumn's new self-titled CD, one thing sprang to mind: Radiohead's The Bends. Then, as a fairly immediate afterthought, came Red House Painters. In actuality, the band's sound on this album is more like a hybrid of the two fronted by a Thom Yorke doppelganger (or, for the younger generation, a somewhat more diverse Coldplay may, perhaps, be a somewhat effective analogy). While comparisons are easily drawn, The Autumns is a fairly unique offering marked by excellent songwriting, pristine production, and beautiful performances.

The first three songs on the disc follow something of a similar sonic formula. Moody, mellow guitar arpeggios float over sparse if present percussion building to an all-out alternative rock finale, all the while driven by the wistful falsetto of vocalist Matthew Kelly. "Désolé" and "Edmond & Edward" add something of a retro 50s/60s rock/pop vibe to the mix. "Flies in the Eyes of the Queen" and "The Moon Softly Weeps a Lullaby" are both strong synth-based instrumentals with beautiful strings, the former based around dreamlike music box chimes and the latter being a moodier piano piece. The closing "Heartsick on the Open Sea", while not instrumental, also enters similar territory with a dreamy, childlike vibe and whimsical finale. The album's remaining 5 songs are somewhat more straightforward rock tracks, the standouts being the excellent "Every Sunday Sky" and "Cattleya", perhaps the album's best track and an obvious single choice.

Overall, The Autumns is a brilliantly intricate and creative slice of mellow rock punctuated by moments of intensity, often walking the line between shoegazer and alternative art rock. It's a sophisticated album that, truth be told, certainly holds its own against the major label competition when it comes to songwriting, production quality, and musicianship. Fans of any of the bands mentioned above or those simply looking for a nice slice of mellow alt rock would be hard pressed to find a better comparable independent album.