A V is the third full-length album by
Surface to Air Missive and the first after man-behind-the-band Taylor Ross relocated from Florida to Athens, Georgia. Once there, he had the opportunity to tour with influence and fellow psychedelic-era enthusiast Kevin Barnes (
Of Montreal) while working on the album. Though
Surface to Air Missive tours as a band, Ross plays and records everything himself in the studio, and again proves to be an ace at experimental psych-pop here. The song set incorporates warm melodies and jangle, hazy rambling, and unorthodox chord progressions à la Barnes, as well as a certain amount of whimsy. The latter is reflected in the album's cover, which features a drawing of multiple hands playing -- and breaking -- recorders, as in the woodwind instrument. After an 80-second percussion solo called "My Stratocaster" that doesn't feature any guitar, the album digs into its trippy experimentalism with "I Call Me Us." Ross' wispy vocals deliver the melody and sunshine-pop vocal harmonies over a guitar ostinato and the first of many appearances by the recorder. A more uptempo track like "Sharp Guise" drives through meandering chord progressions via danceable rock rhythms and breezy guitar hooks. Similarly, "Full of Wonder" grooves along musical modes and varied time signatures with the help of pace, a sweet vocal line, and a mostly acoustic palette that includes piano, guitar, light drums, and recorder, all over increasingly manic bass. The more electrified "Time Being" kicks off like an early
R.E.M. tune before taking some minor diversions, such as an organ cameo. The slower and gentler "Something You're Not" winds through off-kilter chord changes and in and out of consonance and dissonance, like a drug-addled dream. Those who can both embrace this type of radio-unfriendly musical complexity and appreciate rock recorder will find A V to be a rare delight indeed. ~ Marcy Donelson