Delicate AWOL - Heart Drops From the Great Space
(Fire)
Upon first listening to Delicate AWOL's sophomore album, Heart Drops From the Great Space, the first song that caught my ear was "Time and Motion Studies Deep Underground" which fairly faithfully recreats Cobra Phases-era Stereolab with its coy female vocals and percolating synthetic percussion. However, it's hard to tell if that's a good thing. On the plus side, hey... it caught my ear. On the negative side, it's hard to recommend a band for sounding like mediocre-era Stereolab. While much of the album reminds me of our favorite faux-French socialists, there is a little more going on than just 'Lab retread. For example, album opener "Here Comes the Armed Guards" is a big shake-up as it reminds me a lot more of Moonshake than Stereolab with its dance-worthy bassline and nominal use of guitar. Not limiting themselves to British groups of the 90s, "She Looked All Dug-Up Lately" works more of a The Sea and Cake vibe with its thrusting-forward progression and warm swell of sound. However, we're still in the same arena of post-electronic, jazz-tinted pop music, and Delicate AWOL makes no attempts to break out from those boundaries. What they do, they do well, though. The fuzzed-out guitar sound in "The Rolling Year" is forceful, powering this overdriven, full velocity song—yet another tug on your reluctant ears to take notice. The strings in "Chance Thought at Flannel Port" match well with the delicate female vocals that tie the album together. In all, this is a pleasant pop album that's worth listening to a few times, but not one that bowls you over. It's good enough for you to take notice, but no more than that.
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