Head of Femur have never done small. The Chicago trio surrounds itself with crowds of other musicians in pursuit of a massive, orchestrated sonic bonanza, to the point where it feels faintly ridiculous to even think of them as a three-piece. Even the core trio has undergone changes-- founding member Ben Armstrong is now credited only as a songwriter-- but the basic sound is still intact, with Matt Focht and Mike Elsener trading off vocals and Chris Brickley and Dan Dietrich recording, with Omaha studio whiz AJ Mogis lending his hand on the final mix.
I will say that they've pared back some from the gargantuan arrangements and piles of instruments that characterized their second album, 2005's Hysterical Stars. There are some surprisingly intimate moments on this record, most notably "Covered Wagons", which begins with nothing but vocals and piano before finally slipping into a string-drenched second half that nonetheless still manages to sound modest; it's the closest they've ever come to small. The song is almost five minutes old by the time Head of Femur get to the sweeping, jam-packed arrangement we're used to hearing from them.
The decision to sharpen things and use the arrangements to emphasize certain passages, rather than hit you with constant overload, applies to much of the record. "Jetway Junior", "Climbing Up Fire Escapes", and "River Ramble" are all focused, relatively unadorned indie rock songs with sharp melodies and sharper tempos. "River Ramble" and "Climbing Up Fire Escapes" are both swimming with keyboards-- the former is practically electro-pop, with spiky synths and a pointillist bassline that precisely accents the drums.
Even without total orchestral overload, they manage to make things sound big. "Where's the Fire" is a layer cake of horns, keyboards, busy guitars, and two-part vocal harmonies, and it's just as filling as the analogy suggests. "Jetway Junior" also sports strong harmony vocals, in a much more guitar-centric environment. It's the most straightforward indie rock song they've done, and one of their best.
Head of Femur seem to have realized that less can be more, and in the process they've created a particularly dynamic and varied album. The band's basic sound hasn't changed much from record to record, but each has still felt like a distinct and different statement-- this one seems to be their step back from the excess they made their name on, but just a small one. Hysterical Stars is still my favorite, but Great Plains is nonetheless an excellent album that expands their range and shows us a more intimate side, if only for a moment.
