Released in 2010,
Let It Sway wasn't exactly a hard-rockin' album, and three years later, the matured members of
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin turn down their guitar amplifiers to a barely audible sigh and write their arrangements around piano and acoustic guitar. Even breezier than on prior outings,
Fly by Wire finds the band peppering ten straightforward arrangements with its distinctively cute brand of indie pop pep. Crafted with the ambient swells and airy vocals often heard in chillwave, an emphasis on keyboards and an electro-acoustic
Postal Service vibe hint that that this is a product of the recording studio, especially if one were to compare it to the raw Americana-based home-recording style of their early releases. The edges are sanded softly and the buoyant melodies are presented in such a pristine production that
Fly by Wire feels light enough to be a record designated for the adult contemporary crowd. While the playful charm of Philip Dickey, Jonathan James, and Will Knauer never quite shines through in the way it did in the past, glossy songs like "Young Presidents" and "Unearth" are simple, sweet, and tuneful enough that they could win
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin some new fans. There may not be anything challenging here, but even though the lyrics are abstract ("Why don't you call the cops/Wild eyes, you don't have to be good") and the song titles can be misleading ("Harrison Ford"), at the core these are just love songs, and sometimes love is best kept uncomplicated. ~ Jason Lymangrover