CD: Fourteen Trips Around The Sun

Although it has nothing to do with me liking the music of Half Acre Day, it’s very tough to argue with any group that, after some very light correspondence, sends you a high-quality fake mustache that can be bent and fashioned into the “handlebar” and other dashing styles. Cunning.

Anyway, I’ve been raving about Tegan and Sara’s latest (The Con) as probably the album that most rattled my shutters in 2007 – and while there have been plenty of other releases that I’ve really taken to (New Pornographers, Weakerthans, Deerhoof, The Shins, The National, Ted Leo, Peachfuzz, The Mooney Suzuki, Rilo Kiley, etc.), they just didn’t have as immediate an impact. I am happy to report that Seattle songsters Half Acre Day have punctured that bubble with their latest release “Fourteen Trips Around The Sun.”

As the brilliant opener “Anemones” faded from my speakers after the first of many consecutive spins, I knew I was gonna like these fellows. But was this going to be an album that I could get on board with – I mean, a full, coherent collection of songs that I wanted to listen to repeatedly as a collection, even in this cherry pickin’ age of digital music? You bet.

On this latest outing in particular, HAD sometimes hits me like the Pacific Northwest’s answer to Guster, if they were a bit more spare and atmospheric in their arrangements and had a traditional drummer. Not that drummer Aaron McMullen is what you’d call traditional – he’s funky and technical yet economical, and so precise that you could set your watch by his beats. But in general this release seems to favor songs anchored by layers of expertly arranged acoustic guitars with airy overtones and some psychedelic pixie dust sprinkled on top.

You’ve also got five very competent musicians, writers, and singers here who are amazingly able to use their diversity and subtle stylistic preferences to craft a finely nuanced and pleasantly varying whole rather than what the Moxy Früvous records used to sound like – a different group on every track. I’m not saying that there isn’t some charm in that (see Ween), but like I said, that’s what separates an album from a collection of singles.

There seems to be a preoccupation with the not-too-distant future on this disc, equally cast in an optimistic and foreboding light. The eerily prophetic “Turning Into Stars” would be exhibit A. “Astronauts” is a mini folk-rock opera a-la Sleep Station, “Median” strongly displays the vocal harmonic influence of the Beatles, and “2012” has a My Morning Jacket vibe. Those are some highlights, but there isn’t a bad track on here – this is highly recommended listening.

Plus, back to that mustache…it’s always nice when bands have a sense of humor, and HAD isn’t lacking there. However, their humor mainly manifests itself in their artwork, liner notes, and their Teddy Roosevelt type mascot – and perhaps in a song title or two (“Stay On Target”) and some of the instrumentation (I didn’t necessarily hear “Roseann’s feet” but was glad to see them credited). But thankfully, it doesn’t infiltrate the music so deeply that it obscures the sentiment – and it never ventures into the goofy. Let’s just stick with good-natured.

So, did I already mention that this is highly recommended listening? Good. Do yourself a favor and pick this up. And while you’re at it, check out earlier releases “Half Acre Day” and “Primo De La Rocket Suit”, which, to my shock and awe, are equally competent. Where have these fellows been hiding? Well, you’ve been exposed now! Show yourselves!