The members of this Sterling, Virginia fivesome must have figured that they hit on something on their sophomore album, the
Bon Iver/
Iron & Wine-ish Mount Hope, as they’ve outdone even that effort on
Old Friends. Right from the opening
Shins-like “Yellow Hall,” they steadfastly forge lush, fecund folk-pop that’s in step not only with
Simon & Garfunkel's
Bookends classic “Old Friends,” but with contemporary freak-folk favorites and Sub Pop bands-with-beards breakouts (
Fleet Foxes,
Blitzen Trapper,
Band of Horses). Except
the Pygmies are darker, less
Crosby, Stills & Nash and
Brian Wilson and more the 4AD-style “peaceful yet somehow ominous too” Zeitgeist. Chris Taylor and mates’ idea of mysticism is a long day’s journey into night, right through the seven-minute epic closer “Pals,” and like the Eugene O’Neill drama, there’s much under the surface that will lead to shuddering. ~ Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover