On A Bedroom Wall seeks to present a more sleek and serious incarnation of Still Flyin’. The record charts another intriguing step in the band’s subtle metamorphosis, one ushered in over the years since the release of their debut album.
This time around they’ve tweaked their ham-jamming tendencies to produce a more intimate venture. Still Flyin’s fun-loving expertise of the past is conspicuously absent for the most part and any brushes with the band’s previous efforts (see: Spiritus and Candlemaker) are brief at best. Big Trouble In Little Alabama ranks as one of the LP’s finest tracks, re-establishing the band’s credentials as an indie-pop outfit. ‘I’ll never know just why I feel this way. There’s something in my bones I want to say,’ expounds FRONTMAN. It’s a neat hook, but more to the point, it deftly illustrates the album’s inherent tension. It’s an odd fit for Still Flyin’ to sound tentative and vaguely anxious but polished.
The nature of the band’s evolution emerges the foremost point of contention here. Their direction is intriguing and has yielded a solid and consistent enough album, though one not nearly as punchy nor as irresistible as its predecessors. Compared to its fun pick-and-mix older brother Neu Ideas, it can feel a little limited at times. Overall, On A Bedroom Wall earns a mild recommendation as a result, citing separation anxiety from the Still Flyin’ of yesteryear.
BY NICK MASON
Best Track: Big Trouble In Little Alabama
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: Diver LEMONADE, St.Lucia EP ST.LUCIA
In A Word: Moody
