A few years ago, I raved about that Peacers album, and probably first picked it up because of some Ty Segall connection. However, I've recently learned that Mike Donovan from that band was in The Ropers, one of my favorite D.C.-area bands from the Nineties -- I think it was guitarist Mike Hammel I used to take CD recommendations from when he was working at the counter at the fame Vinyl Ink way back when. And while that certainly factors into my interest in Mike Donovan's new solo album, Exurbian Quonset, I can also say that the Drag City release's compositions are nothing like those of The Ropers. It is, however, a superb record.
Some of what's on Exurbian Quonset sounds a bit like Ty Segall's music, for lack of a better comparison. And if I am talking about "Wadsworth March", I'm also talking about "Digital Dan", the opener here. Still, there's something just weird about lots of this, and it's the same sort of skewed pop I loved about the Peacers record, and what I loved about Manchester's Temple Songs too, for the record. It's stuff like "Nowhere Descender" and "Iwata-Wise" that are some of the real standouts here, cuts that make it seem as if the world's gone tilted, and the speakers are on verge of shorting out. Donovan imbues this material with a lot of feeling, such that none of Exurbian Quonset feels like a goof. Even the shorter numbers here, tunes like "My System" and "Hate Mail Writer", feature moments of Kinks-like melodic power, or bursts of Barrett-style pop, enough that the whole album is just full of moments of inventiveness.
Fans of Peacers should find lots to like here, even as Mike Donovan steers things just enough towards mainstream indie to render Exurbian Quonset a memorable listening experience. Sure, it's odd, but it's also strangely catchy, and tuneful in spots.
Exurbian Quonset is out on Friday via Drag City.
[Photo: Laurel Donovan]