On their fourth LP, 2016's
In the Yellow Leaf, Louisiana indie trio
Brass Bed play with the urgency of a hard-working road act, yet remain faithful to their core of finely detailed songcraft. When the Lafayette-based group first emerged in 2008, they melded
Sloan-like power pop aspirations with a winning spirit of laid-back indie experimentalism. Subsequent releases found them alternately channeling their inner
Big Star and turning their melodic sense toward more aurally textural arrangements. Recorded in California with Chris Woodhouse (
Ty Segall,
Thee Oh Sees), the ten tracks on
In the Yellow Leaf offer something ultimately noisier and more cathartic than on previous outings. Songs like "Be Anything" and "Mind the Gap" open up the faucets of reverb, turning riffy, almost garage pop tunes into a wily, epic jams. The edgy, minor-key stunner "I Am Just a Whisper" roils with electricity and is one of the darker tracks they've put to tape. Elsewhere, slow-burning ballads like "Yellow Bursts of Age" and "Keep On" tread nimbly the outer rims of space rock, shimmering up to widescreen crescendos. But underneath the heroic reverb swells and insistent rhythms,
Brass Bed still hold true to the innate pop sensibilities and structures that have set them apart in the past. Plenty of guitar bands delve into exploratory psychedelia, but without thoughtful songwriting, that's all it really is.
Brass Bed have flown under the American indie radar for nearly a decade and while they may continue to do so, they can be confident they've added yet another quality release to their canon. [
In the Yellow Leaf was also released on LP.] ~ Timothy Monger