As solid as
Built Like Alaska's 2002 debut
Hopalong was, the follow-up
Autumnland is even better. The debut, originally released on
Grandaddy's private label, was an immediately likable blend of dream pop, psychedelia, and vague alt-country leanings that compared favorably not only to this Central Valley band's mentors, but the likes of
Earlimart,
Mercury Rev, and other groups working this general style. What
Autumnland adds is superior songwriting to go with their exquisite sense of arrangement and singer/songwriter Neil Jackson's spacious, warm production style. The instantly memorable opening track "Ran into a Coroner" is as good as anything in the
Grandaddy or
Mercury Rev catalogs. "(I Want A) Happy Home" features a lovely piano-based melody, and the yearning "Dirty Mouth" is downright Beatlesque in its intricate layering of substantial melodies and clever hooks.
Autumnland is a bit more varied in its sound than
Hopalong, with Susane Reis' electronic keyboards both more prominent and better integrated into the band's sound on tracks like "Heavy Foot" and "Almost the Earth." Even the minute-long "It'll Keep You Warm," a reverie for acoustic guitar, synth, and breathy harmonies with vague echoes of something off side two of Abbey Road, has a fully realized tune, solid lyrics and a lovely arrangement. In the sense of being an album that has a well-defined aesthetic purpose and goes on to completely fulfill those aims,
Autumnland is close to perfect, and well worth investigation by anyone who owns more than two albums produced by Dave Fridmann. ~ Stewart Mason