Weaving inoffensive melodies into odd time signatures and jagged rhythms is not an effortless task. Few bands even attempt it, and those who do are mostly found in hardcore and prog-rock, which is all but predicated on senseless scale masturbation. One of the very few bands in the past decade who built a successful discography on this formula is The Dismemberment Plan, who had a lot more going for them than just their rhythmic chicanery. +/- are indie's current masters of meter, and may one day inherit the Plan's crown as champions of the pop periphery, if only they sandpaper their edges and stick to their guns.
On 2002's Self-Titled Long-Playing Debut, +/- employed glitchy samples, then common only in IDM, and electro-pop. They were, in fact, progenitors of the sound that would, for better or worse, come to be termed "lap-pop." James Baluyut's lullaby vocals and an array of dreamy synth pads helped smooth the stuttering a bit, but the sound was unquestionably loop-driven. At times, their compositions were so choppy and repetitive that they sounded as if they were woven together by a Garage Band maestro, yet always retained human character. The band also understood that, in some situations, the pale, robotic sound of a drum machine better accompanies a song than a less exacting, more colorful human performance. Chris Deaner gladly took a backseat throughout most of Self-Titled, only to emerge at the most opportune moments.
You Are Here is a much more ambitious effort than its precursor. It's evident that +/- are attempting to branch out stylistically while simultaneously condensing their sound. The results, however, aren't always fruitful, as the band's incessant genre-hopping frequently sounds stilted. Only on "She's Got Your Eyes", a tasteful odd-time samba, do they master a niche experiment. Deaner's agile drumming offers a nice counterpoint to the one-bar guitar loop upon which the song is structured, while Baluyut delivers the line, "I've got ways to make you pay," more benevolently than would seem appropriate for a song about a man abandoning his pregnant girlfriend.
When the band relaxes into a wider, 4/4 time channel, they often succumb to prosaism. "Summer Dress 1" is a blithely strummed ditty that sounds as if it was torn straight from Chris Carraba's How to Be a Sissy Bitch Handbook, while "Trapped Under Ice Floes (Redux)" dangles not far from emo mediocrity. But fortunately, a more mature set of influences shines through on You Are Here's best numbers. On the sinuous opening track "Ventriloquist", Baluyut evokes Michael Stipe's nasal crooning when he sings, "I'm riding in a car/ Please don't take this exit/ And please don't drop me just yet." Other songs recall Joy Division and Depeche Mode, as Baluyut's brittle voice tiptoes to center stage with only a spare backing of guitars and drum loops. "Surprise", another standout, is a nocturnal rumination that would feel right at home among The The's standard fare.
If anything holds You Are Here back from realizing the promise hinted at on +/-'s debut, it's the band's relentless modesty. While I can think of a hundred bands for whom it would be a welcome attribute, +/- are often frustratingly retiring, suppressing their prodigious rhythmic and melodic talents in favor of something more straightforward. Many of the songs here aspire to almost radio-friendly levels of accessibility and shamelessly exhaust easy pop cliches. Still, a few tracks manage to recapture the pop bliss the band achieved by doing it their way on Self-Titled Long-Playing Debut. If only for the endless promise of that record is You Are Here somewhat of a letdown, like untold albums from bands who choose to loiter on the cusp of something bigger and can't quite make that breakthrough step to greatness.
