Spectral Sight is sloppy as hell. Indie-pop, country-rock, folk, garage: elements of all of these genres are thrown into the blender and served up with little regard for what could happen if one were to actually drink the stuff. Somehow, it all works; the album is varied, humorous and refreshingly honest from beginning to end.
Opener “Solar Sister II” starts with a worrying harmonica jam reminiscent of Blues Traveler, but once Christian DeRoeck’s vocals kick in (along with those of Four Eyes’ Erin Lovett), Little Gold’s charm is revealed. DeRoeck’s plainspoken, hyper-literal lyrics are the star of show—the self-deprecating “My Dog” and the bumbling relationship struggles of “Tiny Hours” are easy highlights. Though DeRoeck’s lack of filter is essential to the album’s success, moments like the cringe-worthy hook of “Other Kids” (“Like I need one more reminder/ Of my shitty demographic”) suggest that maybe he could have reined it in a bit.
The instrumentation is great, Chase Merritt’s driving percussion paired perfectly with John McClean’s ass-shaking bass grooves. DeRoeck and Taylor Chmura handle guitar, and their sound rests somewhere on the border between twee and folk-rock, with the occasional digression into 70’s-style classic rock solos.
Spectral Sight always seems just on the verge of collapsing into a complete mess. Thankfully, Little Gold holds it together just enough to deliver one of the most unique local albums of the year. 4 out of 5.
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