Swapping producer
Jim O'Rourke for fellow Chicago-scene linchpin
John Herndon, the
Aluminum Group's stunning fourth LP
Pelo also exchanges the symphonic flourishes of previous outings for Teutonic bleeps and beats which fuse to the Navin brothers' typically elegant and arch melodies with surprising seamlessness. Electronic textures on an
Aluminum Group record are hardly a novelty -- their breakthrough
Plano was firmly rooted in synth-pop territory often veering uncomfortably close to the
Magnetic Fields -- but the expansive sonic palette of
Pelo bears little resemblance to conventional pop sensibilities of any stripe, instead most closely recalling German electro-alchemists
Mouse on Mars. Even more remarkable is that the album's innovations don't come at the expense of the Navins' vaunted melodicism -- somehow
Pelo's skittering, pulsating rhythms dovetail perfectly with the classicist style and sophistication of "If You've Got a Lover, You've Got a Life," "Satellite," and "Geraldine," further strengthened by the songs' consistently inventive vocal arrangements. ~ Jason Ankeny