The debut full-length from North Carolina's Lauds is one of those kinds of records I love to get enthused about. Readers of this site for the last 15 years ought to know that I only write about things I can get a bit enthused about, and, as I've seen, my regular contributors operate from a same POV. Imitation Life from Lauds is the kind of thing that makes me want to rave. It's so expertly crafted and right up the alley of a listener like me, that I'm surprised that I only just now heard about this band.
"Somehow" manages to sound like early R.E.M., if R.E.M. had been intent on copying Cure riffs, while "24" offers a neat juxtaposition of chiming guitars and sleek keyboards. The clash between those styles powers so much of what's great on Imitation Life, but songwriters J. Holt Evans lll and Mckay Glasgow find a way to steer this material into interesting places. "Don't Mind", a moody highlight here, conjures up memories of early Wire Train and a faint hint of the kind of soaring guitar-pop that powered The Wild Swans into the hearts of listeners some decades ago. Lauds make this seem fresh, not just nostalgic, and the cut has a real natural charm.
There's likely going to be an inclination on the part of listeners to Lauds to frame the music on Imitation Life in comparsion to earlier college rock bands from the South. And while "Wasted Hours" nods in the direction of early Connells (and R.E.M.'s "Driver 8"), the sound here is robust enough to stand on its own. Still, I'd be a fool not to name-check the bands I've mentioned above, because by comparing this music to that earlier stuff, I've let you know just how good this Lauds record is. Moody and introspective in tone, this is American jangle-rock of the highest caliber.
Imitation Life by Lauds is out now via Fort Lowell Records.
[Photo: Mary Hannah Riley]