With a Cape and a Cane sounds merely like a solid indie rock record on a passing listen; give it a few more spins and you will be rewarded. Absent here are the sophisticated vocal harmonies of the Joggers debut, Solid Guild, replaced with even more copious amounts of guitar. I know-- guitars in indie rock, not really a revelation. But it's where the guitars go that matters: abrasive, thin-toned strings crawl into unexpected places, doubling and echoing each other, racing up and down unusual scales and squealing like spoiled babies. They ape Eastern tones on opener "Ziggurat Traffic" and fake the funk on "Wicked Light Sleeper"; an extraneous screech becomes the foundation to the chorus of "Since You're Already Up", and a nervous atonal shuffle turns majestic on "White Madam". If there's an open chord anywhere on the album, I can't find it.
To that end, the album is similar to this year's Broken Social Scene record-- both are the works of guitar-driven pop bands that still seem embarrassed of the limelight, with BSS hiding their hooks behind inscrutable production and Joggers weaving through convoluted compositions. But where Broken Social Scene was messy and potentially self-sabotaging, Joggers have the instinct to know when to let go. Just behind these jittery hi-hats and spidery riffs are dizzy sing-along hooks that burst through almost too quickly, as if the band couldn't stand to hold them back any longer. "Ziggurat Traffic" sounds like field-recorded Eastern strings over a heartbeat rhythm before erupting into sloppy, ambitious guitar-rock-- all unexpected rhythm breaks, frenetic drum fills, and layered counter-melodies. The band routinely moves through unwieldy compositions, but there's always a payoff for the listener.
Ben Whitesides' slurred, nonchalant vocals are part of what makes Cape and a Cane sound so self-conscious and occasionally generic, but the big choruses beg for drunken sing-alongs, and his delivery is perfect for the slow-tempo "Night of the Horsepills". "Wicked Light Sleeper" gives the first inclination the band can write songs and not just jams, and-- while Cape and a Cane is consistent from top to bottom-- it opens the record's best moments: "Era Prison", with tension-building sing-spoken verses and an endearingly sloppy chorus, and the frantic rhythms and breathless chorus of "Since You're Already Up".
Consistency is one of the band's biggest virtues here, but it's their grip on resistance and release that anchors the album, with hints of ambition poking out from beneath its slacker skin. From the Eastern tones on the opening and closing tracks to the dance influences on "Era Prison" and "White Madam", the Joggers fix their eyes on somewhere farther than your local dive venue without sacrificing their own unkempt charm. If there's a complaint, it's that they ditched one unique sound (the group harmonies of Solid Guild) and only met new ones halfway. But give the Joggers time to hone things further-- With a Cape and a Cane will still be a dense, satisfying listen after they take their next big step.
