It's been a few years since I reviewed a Mutual Benefit record. But Jordan Lee is back. Growing at the Edges is wildly melodic and thoroughly elegant in its presentation of a form of indie-pop. There's a lot to love here, is what I'm trying to say.
The title cut unfurls with deliberate precision, while "Beginner's Heart" whirrs and creaks with the sort of charm that anchored many a Michael Penn number. Elsewhere, "Untying a Knot" suggests an American run at the sound of Badly Drawn Boy, while the twang of "Little Ways" adds a new country flavor to things. All of this is simply rendered, but ornate in its style. This is chamber pop, of a sort, and Growing at the Edges likely the best thing Jordan Lee's served up to date. There's a lot of things to love here, and each number is sort of soothing in its allegiance to the ideals of well-crafted material.
Growing at the Edges by Mutual Benefit is out today via Transgressive.
[Photo: Annalie Bouchard]