With the success of albums like the Notwist's Neon Golden, lap-pop has fast become one of the most conceptually appealing micro-genres available to today's jetsetting youth. And though its combination of breezy melodies and subtle electronic textures often yields gorgeous results, it has doubtless left a few people asking, "Where's my fucking lap-rock?"
On their second release, +/- may be on their way to providing a resounding answer to that very question. Though it relies largely on the laid-back charm of its predecessor (the excellent Self-Titled Long-Playing Debut Album), Holding Patterns frequently finds the band taking their sound in new, more forceful, kinetic directions. As a result, Holding Patterns is a less consistently enticing listen than its full-length predecessor, but it's still a lovely EP in its own right and, hopefully, a glimpse at what could turn out to be one of the most interesting permutations of the pop-electronic-rock continuum to emerge so far.
"I've Been Lost" opens with a burst of barely-contained energy before a foundation of crystal-clear acoustic guitar and fuzzy electronic drums gives way to blasts of overdriven electric guitar and hyperactive drumming. Percussion is a big part of +/-'s sound, and the contrast between natural and synthetic drumming is played up in "I've Been Lost" as well as it has been in any song since the Dismemberment Plan's "You Are Invited". James Baluyut's markedly unspectacular vocals work strikingly well here, as the simple, charming melodies he intones hold together the tremendous dynamics that make it so interesting.
"Trapped Under Ice Floes" is a more straightforward rock song that recalls the dark, glistening tones of the Moles. Working almost entirely from the interplay between layered clean electric guitars, bass, and Baluyut's voice, it occasionally brings to mind the intense emotional deliberateness of Interpol, minus the perfectly manifest combination of dread and optimism. Indeed, the most frustrating thing about Holding Patterns is that it often hints at what it never fully delivers. Baluyut's songs are generally pretty straightforward in structure, and have a tendency to return to a familiar chorus right when something incredible seems to be in the works. "Trapped Under Ice Floes" is certainly a fantastic song, but it ends awfully close to where it begins, failing to fully capitalize on the momentum of an gorgeously tense, subtle midsection.
The remaining three tracks on Holding Pattern offer rock takes on the lovely, electronic-inflected pop songs that made Self-titled Long-playing Debut Album so great. While that album was largely Baluyut's own work, Holding Patterns sounds much more like the work of a band in the traditional sense: gone are many of the tricked-out lo-fi production quirks of Self-titled, their absence compensated for by more assured songwriting. "You've Just Got It All" is the most successful of these tracks, pairing lovely organ and bell sounds with a drumbeat so effective it can only be described as "catchy." As always, Baluyut isn't afraid to incorporate massive changes in instrumentation and general tone into a song, and the subdued, electronics-heavy section in the middle of "You've Just Got It All" is quite possibly the most beautiful thing on this EP.
Holding Patterns is a beautiful record, it simply finds beauty in different places than its predecessor. While Self-titled... worked around gorgeous, drawn-out sonic vistas, Holding Patterns shows Baluyut and company are just as adept at finding beauty in motion and interaction. Though the focus is largely on texture and melody, this is far from lap-pop-- it's fully realized rock with enough sonic variety to keep things fresh and interesting.
