Finally, a catchy pop record that's serious: not gloomy, not mournful, and not pretentious. It's serious and earnest, it's occasionally sad, but there is such a beautiful gloss over everything that it sticks, hurts, and feels delicious. Not surprisingly, the album was produced by Spoon's drummer, Jim Eno, who I don't believe puts a stamp on anything; he just added some sort of sealant that keeps the sultry goo of "Numb" and sexy-sad lollipops like "We Can Be Good" and "Harder on Me" in our heads for weeks.
Via Audio singer Jessica Martins has a strong, memorable, and pretty much flawless voice, unfettered in reach, with the ability to be an alarming caw (the ravenous climax of bipolar rock/blues number "Enunciation") or a silken liqueur (the blues part of "Enunciation".) Danny Molad, the mostly-full-time drummer, also sings on much of the album; following up "Enunciation" with the duets "Collaboration" and "Hazmat", we are drawn into a world of thoughts defended or answered by a counterpart of the opposite sex: "It takes two to turn out/ The lights that shine around us/ Don't you want to try this?/ Darkness won't destroy us" ("Presents"). Speculation as to the relationships will rivet the listener, but what will hold our attention is the climbs, struts, claps, stops, and restarts that classify one minute of a song as in a completely different mood, key, and rhythm to the next minute. "Presents" is rather steady, a smarter version of twee encased in dazzling guitar plucks-- but it's not exempt from a couple of rabid comedowns in between verses.
The moody and organic composition of the songs is mimicked in the organization of the album, which, generally speaking, settles into serenades and creeping lullabies in the second half, but never abandons that urge to transform, evolve, and devolve as often as possible. The most immediately gripping tracks are earlier on, especially the opener "Developing Active People", which appeared on their self-titled EP in 2004. This may be the quintessential Via Audio track, swooning and rocking in equal measure and knitting Martins' voice neatly in with Molad's. Anyone who has ever heard the Beatles will not be surprised by how the other melodies develop themselves, with more ornate major-minor twists that can be dirty and balladic at once, but what doesn't surprise is pleasing, and what does surprise is addictive.
