To be fair, I really didn't want to like this album when I first played it. Unfortunately, I have no rational explanation for this baseless assessment. I listened to it and thought to myself, "It's good, but it's not doing anything I haven't heard before." So I kept playing it, and before long I began to realize what was making me come back for more—Christiana plays guitar rock, the likes of which have been sadly and suspiciously absent from the music world for too long now. Using a crucial blend of calculated dissonance and careless harmony, the band melds differing segments of songs together into full compositions with the kind of unforced grace that comes from practice and patience.
Songs like "Yellow Room" and "Pretend" rely on backing vocals as much as chiming guitar lines to lift an ordinary jangle pop song to memorable status. "Conflict Is an Antidote" breaks off from a straight rocker into a new time signature, mellows out a bit with a delicate interlude, then ignites, once more, before ending in a swirl of pleasant feedback. Some songs start off unremarkably but reveal keen changes within, such as "Introduce the Subplot First" and "I Cannot Share Your Point of View." "Diamonds" comes across as nothing more than a customary ballad yet contains a swelling of energy just beneath the surface as guitars cascade against placid chords. Frequent changes are again the highlight of "Magpie Eye," going from one tempo to the next almost effortlessly but never pausing to take a breath. "Elaborate Excuses" is the power-pop gem that initially made me reconsider my mistaken apathy towards this band, utilizing a three-note guitar riff that remains throughout the entire song, even as other melodies churn and burn against its relentless pulse.
The album closer is "Before Yesterday," another guitar assault that builds and falls with ease, an appropriate ending to an album that plays on its strengths and grows with repeated spins. There's even an unlisted instrumental bonus track that demonstrates the group's grasp of lovely discord. Although it didn't grab my attention immediately, the subtleties of Christiana slowly unfolded with each subsequent listen and might very well do the same for you, if given the opportunity.
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