On their debut album, Central Falls sounds like another mellow alt-country band that couldn't rock a cradle. And it's frustrating, because Latitude shows potential, not least because of the resumes of the frontmen: Adam Vida plays drums for aggressive art-noise band US Maple, and his brother Ben co-founded post-rock ensemble Town & Country. It's to their credit that they're attempting to expand their horizons with this straight-ahead project, but you'd expect more dynamics and better arrangements. Latitude's consistent, snoozy sound dampens some fine writing, covering up the differences between the songs instead of pushing their strengths.
The record lilts like it's going out of style. On "Zip Codes"-- for just one example-- the gentle cadence of the waltz time guides the quiet, pillow-like guitars and the excessive swell of the pedal steel. Jason Adasiewicz' drums only occasionally knock the songs to life, roughening the sound with the steady thud that opens "Leave Into" or the lumbering beat behind "So Lovely, So Lovely." At other times, the band goes out of their way to keep the momentum in check. On both "Travel" and "Leave Into," they separate a big chorus from a stumbling guitar solo with a space of extreme quiet to make sure they don't build on each other. Was there a baby sleeping nearby?
Adam Vida makes an uncomfortable frontman. Though soft and melodic, his vocals aren't expressive: there's an ache in the lyrics that rarely comes out in his voice. He muffles the interpretations, and it wasn't until I looked at the liner notes that I appreciated the bitterness in, say, "Travel," or the themes of distance and the sad, simple images that populate these songs. It's telling that the best cut, "So Lovely, So Lovely," works by using the fatigue in Vida's voice as he switches from a drag-ass frustration with his life ("God damn, it's such a bore") to the one line of hope ("But so lovely, so lovely are you"). When he hits this chorus-- as with the simple phrase "between love leaving and seeking" that sums up "Travel"-- the song finally gets the punch it deserves.
Latitude needs more of that sort of impact. On the album closer, "Another Perfect Plan," Vida never brings out the potential in lines like, "It's a lie when I deny the lovers on the side/ I never heard about the cancer." The send-off, "I should stay out of town and out of touch," could be miserable if it didn't disappear into an instrumental section that just sounds like padding; the lead guitar turns to knotty lines behind that final verse, but your ear is no longer looking for it. And ballads like "Parallel" and "Famous Harbor" are like sinking into the best bed you've ever slept all day in. It's a soothing listen, but I recommend not listening to this while driving or operating heavy machinery.
