ALBUM REVIEW: Castledoor - "Shouting at the Mountains"
Castledoor isn't an indiepop band in the C86 sense, but they make indie pop. What the Silverlake sextet has done with their full-length record, Shouting at the Mountains, is take the pop single and pop ballad forms, considered them, and then reproduced them with the instrumentation of orchestral indie folk and subtle nods to rock and R&B traditions. The overall effect is a tapestry of childlike tones, seeming pulled from a knapsack, and deployed in adult musical endeavors.
With the same structure and melody, but with different words and electronic samples, "Hidden Treasure" could be a crooner on R&B stations. "Accross the Border" is a faster tempo and distorted guitar away from being a rock single. But these things aren't references or imitations so much as sly musical flourishes, and they betray a deep understanding of musical forms and genres by the members of Castledoor.
Singer Nate Cole's strong, boyish voice is immensely satisfying to listen to and stands-out in the mix. Beyond that, the other member's roles are blurred beyond recognition. This feels like a collaborative record and no particular instrument stands out; every note seems to have its time and place irrespective of who is playing it and on what instrument.
Castledoor is at their best, on stand-out tracks "Fifth Tambourine" and "Shouting at the Mountains," when they build emotional climaxes into their songs. Cole is a fairly dynamic singer and when he's properly framed and given some elbow room in a song is when Castledoor's unique sound really comes through.
Shouting at the Mountains is not the strongest album lyrically (a bit too self-referential; a few too many "I's") and the album peters out a bit in the last few songs. But this is a very strong record, one of the better albums this writer has heard in 2009. A must-have for pop fans and those with a predilection toward ensemble indie bands.
Shouting at the Mountains is available on iTunes and CDBaby. Castledoor celebrates the release of the record tonight at The Echoplex.
Castledoor Record Release Show
Tuesday, April 29th 2009
Castledoor
The Parson Redheads
Princeton
The Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd
Echo Park, CA 90026
9pm
18+
$7
2 comments:
Thanks for this. I'll put it on my way-too-long wish list. :)
This is an excellent review.
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