[rating=7.00]
Cemetery Dares, the debut album by Brooklyn-by-way-of-St. Louis band Modern Rivals, is an ambitious mix of sun-drenched psychedelic pop. At times basking in the warm reverb and at other times exploring the foggy sonic terrain of 60s psychedelia, it is a solid if slightly busy effort produced by Kyle “Slick” Johnson (Cymbals Eat Guitars).
“Angel Bones” slowly eases into the album with a subdued synthesized pipe organ line and frontman Erick Lee’s lazy falsetto. The band seems to be sleepwalking through the song, with its shimmering guitars and lackadaisical beat, but there’s something morbid lurking beneath the dreamy surface. “We turn angels into dust,” Lee sings in the chorus. Towards the end of the opening track, loud guitars kick their way into the mix and all instruments rise into an unexpected cacophony.
Though a transcendent moment, Cemetery Dares never really reaches the peak that “Angel Bones” foreshadows. There are good moments throughout and the album as a whole is solid, but there are no major hooks to speak of. Instead, Modern Rivals deliver 10 loosely connected pop songs, each of which is good but none of which drop any jaws.
Johnson’s production is appropriately slick. Thick coats of reverb accentuate tracks like the album closing “Pins and Stitches,” but the sun never shines too brightly. The optimistic harmonies and shimmering strings carry lyrics that are at times ambivalent, often giving visual descriptions more so than detailing events or emotions (“I remember mists, wet lampposts/ Autumn fog so thick; a vast ghost”). The vocal harmonies of tracks like “Dig Up the Sunset” recall early Beach Boys. Alex Schiff’s synthesizers at times flicker like waking from a deep sleep (“Yvaine”) and at others bob like background music at a carnival (“Dead Leaves”).
At the best moments, Lee delves into the darker parts of his psyche, contrasting the hazy warmth of the music. In “Yvaine,” Lee is uneasy about falling in love. “I can’t help it; I was born to catch you,” he admits before asking a question that shows he is already preparing for the worst. “Promise I’ll forget you?” he pleads. As a debut, Cemetery Dares showcases a band with a lot of promise; perhaps the grandiose moments foreshadowed by “Angel Bones” will be found in a later album.
