The Receiver - Length of Arms

When it comes to their music, Casey and Jesse Cooper don’t do anything halfway. The brothers who make up local band the Receiver are perfectionists, especially Casey, the apparent vision-caster who handles vocals, bass, keyboards, synth, piano, programming and all the lyrics while Jesse mans the drum kit.

With Length of Arms, the two have mastered the art of making a richly rewarding, sonically crisp studio album. Like the Receiver’s 2006 release, Decades, this new record is meant to be heard from front to back, with songs that ebb and flow into others, yet stand on their own just fine. The Coopers do one thing, and they do it quite well. If it’s not broke...

There are some subtle differences, though. Length of Arms is more densely layered with keys and synth, creating a thick, liquid sound to back up Casey’s mournful, milky voice. It’s like an electronic, alien orchestra. And just as before, having Jesse’s live drums instead of loops is crucial, grounding everything back to earth with something organic. That rich combination of sounds is maintained throughout the entire record, without a hiccup. It’s a fully realized vision. (Producer/engineer Mike Landolt no doubt had much to do with this, as well.)

Radiohead is an obvious touchstone for arty rock such as this—complex melodies presented thoughtfully, gracefully and with a fluidity that’s rarely off-putting or inaccessible. In fact, there are slightly more pop leanings on Length of Arms (see “Intervals” and “Amazing Thing”) than on the previous effort, along with more open space to allow the record to breathe; the piano intro to “Hide” is a particularly nice, airy respite.

Casey’s vaguely confessional lyrics are more about crafting a mood, stretching out a phrase like well-chewed gum. It’s nothing for a monosyllabic word to contain three or four notes. “Strength in Numbers” yearns for clarity (“I try to look past mirrors, shifting weight and dreaming in hope to view what blind men see”) while the confessional album-closer “Amazing Thing” seeks redemption (“Bearing my slate to wash it clean”). The first single, “Visitor,” seems to deal mostly with materialistic excess and consumption, echoed by the kleptomaniacal video, which is (unsurprisingly) one of the best-looking, best-produced music videos that’s ever come out of Columbus.

The Receiver’s songs worm their way a little farther into the wrinkles of your brain with each listen, and while they’re undoubtedly crafted so that layers reveal more layers over time, a few of these ambitious songs could stand to be reined in from five minutes to four. That said, no one could justly accuse the Cooper brothers of lazy composition. It’s rare to hear an album this artfully arranged.

The Receiver’s CD-release show will be held this Friday at Skully’s, 1151 N. High St. Also scheduled are Hotel Eden and a DJ set by Kelly Warner.

(Also at The Other Paper.)