The music of Andy Shauf has a certain retro appeal, as if someone was trying to re-invent Eighties AM radio tunes for a new century. Thankfully, Shauf's newest record reveals further refinements to that approach. And there are enough of them here to suggest that Norm, his latest, is his best yet. Certainly, the second of this album is his strongest work to date.
"Wasted on You" is peppy, and radio-friendly, even as the heartfelt "You Didn't See" and plaintive "Catch Your Eye" win a listener thanks to the supple and sleek textures underpinning each. This is slick music, and it's the sort of thing a whole generatio of alt-rock bands were rebelling against, frankly. Still, there's no denying how good Shauf is at this sort of thing, nor that the melodies are strong. This isn't quite a High Llamas record, but there's a delicate grace here, like on "Paradise Cinema", that indicates Andy is getting close to making his masterpiece.
I think there's a part of me that doesn't want anyone else to be trying to dig up and animate the corpse of Eighties yacht rock, so I react negatively to the aspects here that make me think Andy Shauf is doing just that. However, when it sounds like he's found his own groove, and is pursuing his own unique style, things gel nicely. And Norm works spectacularly well during those moments, enough that this should earn Shauf loads of new fans too.
Norm is out on Friday via ANTI-.
[Photo: Angela Lewis]