Palaxy Tracks' cover of
Leonard Cohen's "Seems So Long Ago, Nancy" suggests the band is reaching for something outside its own sleepy indie rock, though really, it's just one melancholy section that finds its home with the rest of
Twelve Rooms. Inspired by the short stories of Raymond Carver, the band's third record is lyrically dreary, as Brandon Durham has an interest in ghosts, murder, loss, and other such tragic things. His voice is a splendid vehicle for this, and even when the band turns up the volume on guitar and drums ("Up My Sleeve," "Legs on the Ladder"), he's still calm and collected. The instrumentation is patient and unobtrusive, with French horn, various keyboards, and even handclaps providing the backdrop. Ending with the eight-minute title track,
Palaxy Tracks branch into an ethereal instrumental that allows them to slowly drift away into other territories. It probably won't inspire a lot of people to write short stories themselves and it's not as haunting as it wants to be, but
Twelve Rooms does hold a certain degree of drama that unfolds with closer examination. ~ Kenyon Hopkin