Local roundup

Reviews of recent (and not so recent) Columbus albums:

The Lost Revival - Homemade Confetti
Let me first say that I'm way late on this one. The Lost Revival released its debut, Homemade Confetti, earlier this year, but it somehow passed me by. That band wasn’t hiding under a rock, either. The seven-piece multi-instrumentalists have become known for their intense live shows, earning them a spot opening CD101’s Summerfest this year.

Homemade Confetti, which was apparently recorded in one weekend, doesn’t sound the least bit like a rush job. It’s a big record, with lots of atmospheric layering in the background, providing a thick blanket in which to wrap Kevin Collins’s throaty vocals--like a less lackadaisical, sea-urchin-swallowing version of the Black Swans’ Jerry DeCicca.

Collins must be a Bob Dylan devotee, given some of his phrasing, harmonica style and religious imagery. (Not to mention the intro guitar riff to “Jailbait” sounds just like “Hurricane,” and “Thin Man’s Mile” is probably not a coincidental allusion to “Ballad of a Thin Man.”) But with all those instruments and dark overtones, any sort of “Americana” tag would be misleading--especially on a song like “A Bird on a Chain,” the best on the album. The Lost Revival has a sound entirely its known, and a good one.

Karate Coyote - Move EP
Just the name Karate Coyote exudes playfulness, so it’s no surprise this up-and-coming band’s debut EP, Move, is filled with hand claps and a friskiness that brings to similar-minded acts like Los Campesinos!.

Playful is cool with me, especially when it’s done this well. “Move yourself to dance,” instructs Karate Coyote on the bouncy leadoff track, “Move Yourself,” and if no one’s looking, you’ll no doubt find yourself heeding the advice. Surprises abound on this little EP, like the bluesy guitar solo on “Easy” and the synth outro on “Incogneat-o.”

KC is a new band, so there’s room to grow, of course. I could use more of the back-and-forth guy-girl vocals, and I think the singers in general are buried too deep too often on these tracks. They’re good enough to be front and center--a position Karate Coyote should get used to if it continues down its current path.

mp3: Karate Coyote - Move Yourself

Melty Melty - Rise of the Birdmen
A few weeks ago I told you about the whole debacle Melty Melty went through while recording Rise of the Birdmen, i.e. losing the entire album to a computer crash and having to start from scratch. It makes for a good story, but good stories only matter if the record follows suit. This one is so good you won’t really care how it came to fruition.

Like Sean Gardner’s other projects (Bookmobile, Winter Makes Sailors), Melty Melty continues his pattern of making highly accessible but no less artful indie rock, this time with an unmistakable deference to Pinback--a comparison I wouldn’t make lightly.

Rise of the Birdmen is polished and spacious. “Walls” is built around a simple, repeating guitar bend, and “Killing Time” is Melty Melty at its dreamiest, Gardner and former Kopaz compadre Kevin Davison making tasteful use of analog synths, eerie guitar and found sounds. “Same Situation” would be the obvious first single, if singles still mattered. Gardner’s instantly recognizable tenor has a tendency to wander too far into whiny land, but it usually anchors the songs nicely; his inventive vocal melodies provide the majority of the album’s hooks.

Nothing against the band’s label, We Want Action, but Melty Melty deserves something bigger, and with this debut, the band just might get it.