NEW YORK, NY- The lead track of You beckons with a slinky synth line, an irresistible lead-in that proves delightfully incongruous given the song title, “Why Don’t You Go.” Brisk percussion kicks in, guitars double up the melody, and the warm flourishes of horn provide an effective counterpoint to the blithely dismissive query at the heart of the refrain. You like to the dress the part, the song goes, but this isn’t about deconstructing the fronts we put on — rather, it’s time to forge ahead.
You is the third album from pop outfit Teaheads, a vibrant offering at the intersection of blues-infused rock (think Hall & Oates) and of-the-moment pop à la Charlie Puth. The NYC-by-way-of-Flint, Michigan, duo who form the core of the band, Tyler Rigdon and Travis Hall, draw from a palette of influences. These songs contain the retro soulful warmth that bands like Tennis and Lawrence have tapped into, but with more propulsion and bite courtesy of David Roof’s and Donn Deniston’s drum work, along with long-time collaborator Nick Baker on bass.
The deft arrangements in the eight-track album straddle the vintage and the contemporary, and Rigdon’s take on Spector-esque production and Robert “Mutt” Lange’s genre-welding arrangements situates You in a place between art-rock and Top 40 — both cerebral and catchy. Songs like “Lottie” reference the anxieties of modern love, where relationship status is gauged by social media interactions (“deleting those photos of us online”), all while embracing a melody with hints of Fleetwood Mac in its bright-eyed wistfulness. And slower numbers like “When It Comes To Love,” which recalls jazzy, post-war vocal pop, paired with the narrator’s heart-on-sleeve vulnerability, is proof positive that even in 2019, all is not lost to ironic disaffection.
Take You for a spin (Spotify, SoundCloud), glide along those polished grooves, and daydream of balmier days.
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Track listing:
- Why Don’t You Go
- In Touch
- I’m A Factory
- Lottie
- When It Comes To Love
- Take It Out On Me
- Lottie Reprise
- On the Line
