Last year, Grouper released Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill, a record that was not only a personal breakthrough for Liz Harris, but arguably for the Type label as a whole-- an LP so insidiously ingratiating that it just had to be pop at its core, right? So what now that Fred Thomas, he of the erstwhile retro-pop outfit Saturday Looks Good to Me, is now recording as part of City Center on the same imprint?
City Center doesn't necessarily come off like a true pop record, but where Grouper made a point of sounding fully submerged, City Center never go so far that they can't come up for air. Somewhere between early Paw Tracks' folk abstractions and the recent outpouring of lo-fi dream beat, most of City Center is content to drift in and out of its aqueous surroundings like a buoy. The major chords and ringing ambience of "Killer Whale" make for a welcoming entrance point, though Thomas' vocals sound like they've been suspended in some kind of gelatin. If you're looking for a commonality between Coldplay's "Yellow", Bonnie "Prince" Billy's "So Everyone", and Animal Collective's "Who Could Win a Rabbit", it's the same ringing B-major chord that begins "Open/House"-- likewise here, amidst punchy synth kicks, it heralds an unusual display of scrutability even while erratic panning, processed steel drums and plate reverb give it distance.
You hear echoes of Thomas' past work on "Gladest" and "Summer School", which hide otherwise sure-footed progressions under bobbing, waterlogged percussion and bell-timbres. Lyrics are, at best, implications and vocal melodies are content to eddy away with no plans of return. Ultimately, it's the dynamic between melodic resonance ("Young Diamond") and found-sound obfuscation (the four minutes of "You Are a Force" are pregnant with stay amp hum) that defines a debut that I'd call "promising," if only it gave any sort of indication that it was looking to become a part of some sort of artistic arc, as opposed to a stasis with plenty of breathing room-- even when City Center may appear impenetrable, it's still welcoming. C'mon in, the water's great.
