Hailing from Boston, The Everyday Visuals ooze the hazy, wintry ennui that New England is famous for. Their second album is a pretty logical next step for the band; their melodies have hardened and the rhythms have become a little faster and bouncier. It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s a great springboard and it proves the Everyday Visuals have especially fecund creative minds.
Everyday Visuals can’t decide on just one indie-rock cliché, so they use all of them – Motown electric pianos, folk-rock guitars, and everything in between. “Boom! Boom! Boom!” is driven by pleasantly distorted guitars and a motorik beat, while on “Florence Foster Jenkins,” they sound positively orchestral. Occasionally, this kitchen-sink approach clogs up their sound, and the ideas occasionally drift a little too far form the mothership. However, the majority of the album remains cohesive and strong. It’s also helped by production values and sound quality that are surprisingly good for an independent release.
Everyday Visuals may not pave any new roads, but it’s nonetheless a solid album of good, rich music. The music is easygoing and inviting, which makes it easy to forgive its occasional lapses into self-indulgent nonsense. The album is a musical smirk – simple at first, but surprisingly deep when you crack into it.
In A Word: Wurlitzer
