One Track Mind

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Philadelphia’s Brown Recluse are working on their debut full-length record (to be released on Slumberland sometime in 2010), but in the meantime, the sextet will be serving an amuse bouche in the form of the four song The Soft Skin EP. This release, which will be available digitally and on vinyl on September 8th, was actually recorded in 2007, so it will be interesting to hear how the band grows between albums. As “Contour and Context” illustrates, the band already excels at their genre, namely the sort of pastoral, effulgent indie-pop once espoused by acts like Holiday (who also claimed college campus roots) and The Fairways.

With its shambling beat and nonchalant vocal perfomance, “Contour and Context” is like a sweet, easily quaffed drink of iced tea on a hot August day. You can tell this was brewed in direct sunlight, too, its electric piano and handclaps little rays of light themselves. The track uses a horn section to prick things up at key moments–tugging the music upwards as though on marionette strings–and the resultant effect suggests something out of The Ladybug Transitor‘s playbook. It may not be the most memorable song you hear all year, but it is sure to please with every listen, and offers enough subtle detail work to provide fresh surprises with each passing listen.

Shambling