The Seldon Plan
The Collective Now (Magnatune Records)
It took numerous listens for me to decide if I liked this album, because it's so simple and poppy that it sounds minorly generic at times. This is the way pop rock always works, though; some bands are able to make themselves distinct while others bite the dust -- not because their music is bad, but because it's not memorable enough.
Luckily for The Collective Now, I think they've managed to put together an album that is both memorable and easy to digest. THeir album is indie rock for the unpretentious, and they've covered all the bases very well. As I'm scrolling through this album right now, I'm trying to pick out my favorite songs to highlight, but it's rather difficult because there are so many quality tracks of equal caliber. I don't know whether to choose the waltz-like "Poem For The Middle Class," the hypnotic "Brandywine Situation," the nostalgia-inducing "Saint Barnabas," or the American Analog Set-inspired "Oella."
The album artwork featured hand-drawn watercolored fish, which blend into each other like one massive hybrid of flash as they reach out of the water's surface for a worm on a hook. This album is a combination of various types of indie pop rock, and, like the fish, every track comes together collectively to form an album that seamlessly traverses genres. No song is over four minutes, and the short and sweet nature of the songs work to the album's benefit. These guys are doing something right for the indie rock scene, and I hope they gain some exposure outside of Baltimore soon.
Art: Unknown -- credits unavailable on the promo copy.
comment on this album's artwork
