Eulogies' first two releases, both thematically reliant on the ins-and-outs of relationships, suggested the band was content to make the same kind of color-by-numbers, misty-eyed indie pop ad infinitum. But life has a way of intervening, and in the case of Eulogies' ringleader Peter Walker, it was an unfortunate turn of events: Walker's best friend lost his four-year-old boy to cancer, just after the birth of Walker's own child. And Eulogies third album, Tear the Fences Down, was written with him in mind.
The irony that a band called Eulogies has now crafted something of eulogy is likely not lost on Walker, though he certainly doesn't let on. Tear Down the Fences, while elegiac in its own way, is by far the most varied, energetic record Eulogies have made to date, abandoning their mopey moves in favor of sharp, densely arranged indie pop songs that shine brighter the less straightforward they are. Opening track "Out of Style, Out of Touch" rumbles with the perky energy of a Vampire Weekend tune, while the tumbling "You Hide" could be a lost cut from Eels' Daisies of the Galaxy. In fact, Walker even sounds like Mr. E on many of the songs here, which seems fitting, as the Eels frontman is no stranger to grief. But unlike so many Eels records, Tear the Fences Down is near pitiless, while the entanglement of emotions is still evident. "Will I" is coldly detached, Walker's voice hanging like a ghost over the robust, almost aggressive clatter of the band underneath. "How to Say Goodbye", probably the most beautiful, affecting song here, boasts a chorus of gorgeous, free-fall vocal harmonies.
Most of Tear the Fences Down is so lyrically ambiguous that "How to Say Goodbye" could easily be about a girl. But Walker doesn't seem interested in spelling things out-- this is a record made with a select few people in mind, and that intimacy makes it engaging. Only on two tracks does he address the tragedy head-on, from two unique perspectives. "Separate Heart" is paranoid and jaunty, with Walker singing, "I'm boxed in my happiness, I'm falling down/ I want to surrender, but I don't know how." It's a weirdly helpless confession; in the face of another's tragedy, he's confronting the difficulty of finding happiness in his own new parenthood. But most of the conflicted feelings, fears, and regrets expressed on Tear the Fences Down are calmed by closing track "Little Else to Say", a simply stated epilogue. Clearly a children's song, it's an autobiographical account of the slowed process of overcoming loss-- a big idea written for small people but, like a good portion of Tear the Fences Down, one that registers across the board.
