The bright chamber pop of the best album from The Ladybug Transistor is blasting away the gloom and doom of this week for me. This new 25th anniversary reissue of The Albemarle Sound is a delight. And for those who liked that fine recent record from The Garment District, this is a reminder of just why those musicians are so capable of producing music so enjoyable, and proof of where they learned how to do it 25 years ago.
What's odd now, hearing The Albemarle Sound again is a recollection that I took this a little bit for granted in 1999. It's not that I wasn't all over chamber pop, Elephant 6 stuff, and Merge Records bands, but I think maybe the raves for this from certain sources sort of turned me off in the Clinton era. The good news is that this music was/is timeless, so the numerous charms of The Ladybug Transistor's masterpiece are intact here in the 21st century.
The music within these grooves captures a vibe that owes much to The Kinks, Linda Smith, and even Nilsson and Van Dyke Parks. That said, there's a directness here that keeps this from seeming too arch. Less chirpy than The Apples in Stereo, and less bafflingly engaging than The Olivia Tremor Control, The Ladybuy Transistor were an Elephant 6 band which mapped out their compositions with precision and reserve; what seemed overflowing with affectations in 1999, seems now relatively reserved. Tunes like "The Great British Spring" and "The Swimmer" are blossoming with ideas, but the players keep things relatively in check, and in service of the melody, not the style. That is a crucial reason this seems so good so many years later.
Of course, there's stuff here that shines with a bit more obviousness. "Meadowport Arch" is nearly gratingly chipper, stuffed as it is with the kind of inspired chamber pop that was apparently the rage in 1999 given that this band and The Divine Comedy were chasing the same kick. Elsewhere, "Like a Summer Rain" ups the Left Banke-isms even more, though the Ladybug cadre chase their goal with a bit more restraint on this number. What wins over now, heard 25 years later, are the tracks, like "Six Times" which purr with a kind of High Llamas-ish resolve. The angle of the approach is correct, and while The Albemarle Sound may have seemed to me too mannered in 1999, now it sounds like genius. I really never gave The Ladybug Transistor enough credit back then for doing this so very well.
Loaded with bonus tracks, demos, and a wonderful cover of "Massachusetts" by The Bee Gees, this 25th anniversary edition of The Albemarle Sound by The Ladybug Transistor is out now on vinyl, digital, and CD via HHBTM Records. Details also via the label's Bandcamp.
[Photo: Erick Schonfeld]