The Babies - Our House On The Hill (Audio CD - Nov. 13,2012)

The conversational breeziness of Pavement-esque album-opener "Alligator" gives way to "Mess Me Around," a quick slice of indie rock so '90s-drenched it actually might be better categorized as alternative rock. The song's one-note guitar leads evoke the Pixies, while the structure and string of foul-mouthed insults that make up the last verse bring to mind the insular manic state of the Lemonheads trashing a hotel after a European festival circa 1992. Many of Morby's tunes bear this fever-pitch energy, and the songs where both he and Ramone sing dual leads capture some of the same spirit as early X. The album's overall moodiness adds to its separation from the key players' other acts. Ramone-led songs like the downright eerie "Baby" or the sad-hearted, country-tinged wanderlust of "See the Country" are completely absent of any of the fuzz or fire that would make them fit in with other Vivian Girls tunes, opting instead for spooky chord progressions and pop so stormy and subtle it could pass for something from the early-'90s Simple Machines roster.

Condition: New! Brand New Factory Sealed!
TRACK LISTINGS
1 Alligator
2 Slow Walkin
3 Mess Me Around
4 Get Lost
5 Baby
6 Mean
7 On My Team
8 Moonlight Mile
9 See the Country
10 That Boy
11 Chase It To the Grave
12 Wandering