Review Summary: Unpolished indie pop for the masses.
As a self-described “art collective” the Brooklyn-based outfit, who fall under the moniker of Uninhabitable Mansions, participate in various forms of artistic expression, including handmade books, hand drawn t-shirts, painting, short stories, designing yard sticks (“useful for measuring and whatnot” – direct quote), and of course, making music. The musically-inclined members of the collective, and who form the band, consist of Tyler Sargent and Robbie Guertin of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah fame, Annie Hart of the underappreciated Au Revoir Simone, Chris Diken of Guertin’s side project Radical Dads, and Doug Marvin of shoegazers Dirty On Purpose. Perhaps not the super group that seem to be more and more common these days but an accomplished line up nonetheless and accomplished is exactly what their debut LP, Nature Is A Taker, is. This is a record that knows where its strengths lie from start to finish and wastes no time deviating from that course, making some of the most enjoyable indie pop of the year so far.
In a year where giants Built to Spill returned to form and newcomers Cymbals Eat Guitars threw listeners back to a time where Pavement were kings of the counterculture, some may have forgotten just how enjoyable a standard set of indie pop songs can be. There’s nothing about Uninhabitable Mansions’ music that would put them apart from many of the bands out there and they certainly aren’t breaking barriers but since when was being good at what you do not enough? Fortunately, Uninhabitable Mansions excel at their brand of indie pop and Nature is a Taker is all the better for it.
Songs such as closer ‘We Already Know’ or ‘Do You Have A Strategy?’ live through this upbeat, pulsing rhythm that marks some of the best songs on Nature Is A Taker, with the former characterized by it’s quickfire verses (‘Nature is a taker / nature is a butcher / and she’s out of control / out of control’) and slow collapse into feedback and reverb as the song (and album) come to a close, while the latter might just be one of the best indie rock songs of the year with it’s infectious mix of handclaps, background vocals and Guertin’s strained warble. Despite the talents of Annie Hart being slightly underused, her keyboards shine in songs like ‘This Drift’ adding a much-needed layer to the music, and her soft, pleasant vocals on ‘Ex-Explorer’ prove a very flattering combination with Guertin’s, as well as a much needed break.
Expectedly from such a young side project, Uninhabitable Mansions don’t hit all the marks. Songs like ‘Big Kick’ don’t make much of an impact on initial listens but as little things reveal themselves (the band dropping off momentarily as Guertin yelps ‘there’s no one there’) they give the listener moments to genuinely appreciate. ‘Maps Not Accurate’ doesn’t quite live up to the ethereal chants and thundering drums that breathe life into it, marred by the vocals being far too weak and ill suited to hold their own in a song attempting to be bigger than it is; again returning to the theme that sometimes it’s best to settle with what you know.
All in all, anyone in the mood for a healthy slab of indie pop that falls more along the artsy, less-polished side of the spectrum, this suits the bill. It’s nowhere near perfect but that’s the best thing about it.
