Music Review // Close Talker "The Sprawl"

When listening to "The Sprawl", I get a sense of familiarity from Close Talker.   Within these songs come that feeling of The Lyndsay Diaries or The Get Up Kids but also bands more on the electronic side.   With that alternative / college rock type of sound such as Silversun Pickups, there are also elements of a band within here such as Neon Trees.   Close Talker really does bring out both The Postal Service and Death Cab For Cutie somehow.

Dreamy slowcore kicks in on the first song with beats.  "Exodus" has more of these blissed out beats and then keys and acoustics come into a breakdown as well.  There is this nice dramatic type of sound taking us into "King George" and I just keep thinking of a band I've heard before, like All Get Out, but I can't quite put my finger on the exact artist this sounds like.  But that is a good thing, as that familiarity can make this so easy to listen to and so easy to enjoy.

"From Dark to Lightness" has this huge anthem feel to it and it's one of my favorite songs on this album.   The beauty of "The Sprawl" is that at times you can feel like there are songs with that verse/chorus/verse structure, but then at the same time you can just hear those breakdowns and overtures, songs in between that aren't as long as the others.   "From Dark to Lightness" really has all of the elements that this entire album seems to create, all of the various facets which make the music feel so complex.

The song "Tall Boy" seems to favor music over lyrics and "And Am" is a big, instrumental number, just showcasing that Close Talker isn't just about the words but can also bring forth the rock.  In ways, this sound can remind me of post rock because of how complex it can be, but at the same time I hear those beats and think about how this could also be pop and on the radio.  It has that AJR way about it while also just feeling too intelligent to be for the masses.  That is one of the best places music can land.