Munich-based trio
Aloa Input cover a lot of ground on their colorful and vibrant debut,
Anysome. Strong melodies, tight riffs, and distinct two- and three-part harmonies represent the best of what these young Bavarians have to offer and form the core of their sound. Surrounding these elements are various modern rock themes ranging from
Vampire Weekend-style worldbeat rhythms and riffs to driving electro-inspired pop similar to Scotland's
Django Django and spiced with plenty of the neo-pysch experimentation favored by
Animal Collective and
Tame Impala. That's not to say that
Anysome is a mere crib sheet of recent indie rock trends.
Aloa Input have some great ideas and execute them well, adding their own unique flavors to the cocktail. Their music is exciting and it's easy to get caught up in their fervor as they dabble in whatever textures and moods their whimsy dictates. The album sequence is divided up into basically an A/B format with instrumental "Prelude" and "Interlude" tracks placed at the top and midway through. The first lyric-based track, "Another Green World" (not the iconic
Brian Eno track of the same name), is an ebullient modern indie pop gem, riffing and thumping over a bed of sampled birdsong and ending in a rousing and memorable harmonic chorus of "I see anything but tigers, that's what all my friends will say." The following track, "Prblms," is another well-made slice of pop melding an infectiously boney guitar riff with trilling recorder parts and a distant, washed-out trumpet line. While there may be a lot of ingredients in that pot, the production is clean and spare enough to allow little flourishes like this to stand out the way they should. Mellower tracks like the single "Someday Morning" also shine with a warmth aided by dreamy backing vocals and backward loops that don't belie the otherwise lean arrangement. Both musically and lyrically,
Aloa Input tread a fine line between artful obscurity and genuine earnestness but connect most soundly with the latter. ~ Timothy Monger