Those expecting a breakthrough from Chin Up Chin Up's second record might walk away disappointed, but the band's fans won't be-- This Harness Won't Ride Anything is version 2.0 of the band's restless debut. The title track opens the album, and skips merrily by on gliding distortion and ringing Cure-like single notes while giving singer/guitarist Jeremy Bolen the space in the verse to carry the track. He does so somewhat awkwardly, but ably, with more than a little Robert Smith-like wavering in his otherwise everyman voice. "Harness" also bursts with tiny details, like the whipcrack of a drum pad or the groaning strings underneath the spritely organ. It's a little aurally crowded for a breezy rock single, but for the most part, it works.
Bolen's voice still doesn't always mesh with the music, but it's an improvement on the hoarse whispering from the first album. But the band is the star here: The prettier moments are far prettier, like the glistening reverb of "Mansioned", and more details lurk underneath what sounds like typical indie jangle. A skittering electronic beat morphs into handclaps in "Water Plains in Snow"; jittery punk-funk guitars recede for a sunny Stereolab nod in the middle of "Blankets like Beavers"; a new-wave synth pops up in "We've Got to Keep Running"; and whimsical plucks of violin subtly boost an innocuous pre-chorus in "I Need a Friend With a Boat", one of the album's most spacious and successful tracks. There's nothing as immediate as the debut's best tracks, but the hooks are there if you dig for them-- witness the subtle harmonies of the breakdown in "We've Got to Keep Running". This band just keeps getting sharper, and rarely hold anything back. This is pop for the detail-hungry.
Chalk it up to the comedown from the excitement of a debut record, but where before it sounded as if this band could pull off anything, now it sounds as if they feel like they have to pull off everything. Even the buffet table gets old, and while there are golden moments, there's yet to be a song where the styles that CUCU blitz through serve the song instead of vice versa. (Or at least, a fast song-- "Mansioned" and the closing "Trophies for Hire" seem to be the album's centerpieces.) Harness doesn't deliver many surprises or follow through on the promise of the debut; it simply refines the sounds they explored and digs its heels in a little deeper. We used to praise bands for this kind of slow, assured growth. There's going to be a moment, though-- if it hasn't come already-- where Chin Up Chin Up will outgrow the local hero tag and need to live up to expectation.
