John Andrew Frederick is more prolific than Robert Pollard, it seems. And like Pollard, he's a songwriter fascinated by power-pop, and the necessity of crafting tight numbers that deliver a lot of joy atop a few hooks. Where things get different is when we factor in Frederick's smarts, and his formidable lyrical skills. The mix of sharp words and bright tunes is most visible on the new album from Frederick's The Black Watch, Fromthing Somethat. Out on Friday, the release is one of the best things the band's offered up in ages.
The brand of indie used throughout Fromthing Somethat is more or less the same all the way through, but what one might say was a sameness is, to me at least, a refinement of a particular approach until it's perfected near the end of the record. Every shimmering number here sounds a tiny bit like Ride and The Clientele had a baby and his name was John Andrew Frederick. Opener "Saint Fair Isle Sweater" has a faint Stereolab vibe about it, even as the sleek "The Nothing That Is" is the best New Order song that New Order never bothered to write. Elegant, precise, and full of a kind of yearning that's more European than American, The Black Watch have never sounded this good. Elsewhere, "Green Stars, Clouds Departing" works up a nice mood, even as "Drip, Drip, Drip" starts modestly until it ripples outward in a thoroughly catchy barrage of perfect indie-rock melodic hooks.
While some of Fromthing Somethat suggests that John Andrew Frederick can write the best variations on the formula used by The Auteurs in their early days, or The Smiths in their final ones ("The Haves & Nots"), the glorious "I'm Not Hung Up" closes this record on an absolutely breathtaking high. Blending a Bowie-like vocal figure with chamber pop instrumentation that barely rises above a whisper, the cut, the quietest one here, is beautiful. Think "My Dark Star" by Suede, or "Sleep Well Tonight" by Gene, or even "Girl" by T. Rex. Yes, it's that good! All of Fromthing Somethat is, of course, and a reviewer like me is left to sort of trumpet the bits that seem familiar in the hopes that newbies will seek this record out and embrace it as it deserves to be embraced. With the possible exception of the folks in Comet Gain, i don't know anyone else who's making music like this still, but thank God John Andrew Frederick is.
Fromthing Somethat is out on Friday via Atom Records.
[Photo: Brendan Holmes]