Widowspeak's debut record for Captured Tracks is characterized mostly by its careful sparseness, tasteful subtlety, and knowing restraint. Listen closely to the young trio-- from Brooklyn by way of Tacoma and Chicago-- and it's clear that although the record could lean primarily on singer Molly Hamilton’s refined alto, or guitarist Rob Thomas's psychy twang, it does neither. Widowspeak is a collection of smoky pop melodies, and it's also a great guitar record. Mostly, it's a continuous call-and-response, pinned by drummer Mike Stasiask's studied, vintage beat and occasional organ touches from the lipstick-red Farfisa at Rear House, where the band tracked the LP with Jarvis Taveniere of Woods earlier this year.
Side A opens on the East Coast with the upbeat and delicate surf guitars of "Puritan." Molly's soft, unfurling vocals deliver images of New England car-rides, and the track embodies an indie-pop purity that its title can't help but signal. The band switches gears with Northwest-inspired hit single "Harsh Realm," a moody slow-burner with serious licensing potential, the silver ping of Thomas' guitar coming to a crawl. "Nightcrawlers" builds to a dark, twangy psychedelia that is dissonant and urgent and a seeming ode to overwhelming New York late nights. But "In the Pines," a chugging and atmospheric pop song that is also one of the record’s most compelling, shuttles us out to the country once again.
Most of the songs on this album could be singles, and Side B makes that more obvious. A steady string of poptimism on "Gun Shy," "Hard Times," and "Fir Coat" carries the band's formula to sunnier, more upbeat territory, suggesting that had Captured Tracks not plucked them from obscurity, a whole lot of other indie-pop labels would have probably taken notice eventually. There's no denying Widowspeak have crafted Captured Track's cleanest-sounding LP to date, embracing a minimalism that's refreshing and, for this label, wholly new.
Widowspeak: Widowspeak by alteredzones
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