Balancing Act—Who've You Come As?, Pt. 2

This album is part two, with the first part coming out last year. I have to admit, they weren't a band I was familiar with until I got a recommendation. After checking out the band, it was a no-brainer to add them to the review pile.

The album opens with "Sunshine" and, in contrast to the title, it's very much a darker sound. As I was listening, I couldn't help but think of glam rock, but with a darker edge. The guitar is relentless, but it's more fuzz than a harder edge, with the vocals, raw, but restrained vibes.

There's something very evocative in the opening of "Loaded With Pearls", giving a throwback to bands like Depeche Mode. It's a fairly slow track, and again that glam rock feel comes to the fore, with vocals that give a hint of Marc Bolan vibe. The chorus evokes a late 90s, early 2000s feel, but it's just a brief interlude. It really shouldn't work, but somehow it does.

A jangle guitar opens "It Girl", and it finally hit me: this feels very much like a band that has a core sound or ethic, but likes to punch out and push the envelope. So you get different sounds and influences, but it's all held together by that central element.

I love the drumming that opens "All Yours", and then the rest of the instruments slowly come in. It results in a track that motors along at quite the clip, but without sounding rushed or hurried. I think this is the track where I really started to appreciate the production.

It's time to kick back and chill with "Wrapped Around Embroidery". It opens with acoustic guitar and then a luscious keyboard sound, reminiscent of a Rhodes piano. This is one of those tracks that you can't help but form an emotional connection to.

There's a more whimsical feel to "By Miraculous Design". Again, those Marc Bolan-edged vocals return. Musically, there's an almost musical, theatrical feel to the track, which adds to the whimsy, but this is no novelty song, just one that feels like it has some interesting influences.

The album closes with "There's A Few Of Us Still Here" and, as soon as the piano came in, I was sold. It builds into one of those songs you can imagine being played live, with the audience really kicking off.

This feels like an album with many influences, but they're subtle ingredients. Rather than dictate what something is going to sound like, they're more like bursts of memories, something that perhaps is more prevalent in those who have lived through many genres of music. But needless to say, this is a great album and very much stands on its own merits.