I'll admit I've never heard James Baluyut's previous work in Versus or the debut +/- album, but if this recording grows on me like I suspect it might, I think I'll have to check it out. Still, I'm a little bit tentative. You Are Here is such a multi-faceted affair that it would really depend on which songs best represent Baluyut's past material. If it's like the brooding, icy Xiu Xiu meets Death Cab "Ventriloquist," I'm definitely game. But if it's more like the Thursday-ish power punk of "Under Ice Floes (Redux)" I think I'd have to pass.
No matter how this recording might rub you the wrong way, it's a track away from completely sucking you in. Take the surprisingly funky shoegaze informed (I hear All Natural Lemon and Lime Flavors, in particular) "She's Got Your Eyes." This may be the first time "funky" and "shoegaze" have been used in the same sentence in an album review. Well, here's to breaking boundaries. I love this track, and it just shows how smart the songwriter is that so few others have failed to make such compelling pop experiments as those on display here. "Summer Dress 1" makes me think of Ben Folds particularly with the vocal delivery (think "Smoke"), but since it's matched with an understated acoustic accompaniment, it's not that overt of an affiliation. "Cutting Out" returns to the rock out mode of "Under Ice Floes" with its chorus, but the verses are muted vibes and low percussion, and the clever way Baluyut adds a cut up harmony to drive the concept of the song is notable. I actually think the bombastic, familiar sounding chorus diminishes the inventiveness of its surrounding verses a bit.
I'd love to do a track by track analysis, but due to the economic structure of the reviews on this site, I'll have to sum up the rest of the proceedings as follows:
"Megalomaniac," "Scarecrow," and "Here We Are (Again)" are minimally tweaked radio-ready pop songs that fans of more traditional soul-searching rock lilters will dig.
"Surprise," "No One Sees You Like I Do," and "Everything I See Makes It Feel Wrong" represent the more adventurous, original songs on the album.
So, there's much treasure to be uncovered here, so don't miss out! But you should definitely consider the grab bag nature of the LP before shelling out your hard-earned $.
1. Ventriloquist
2. Surprise
3. Trapped Under Ice Floes (Redux)
4. She's Got Your Eyes
5. Summer Dress 1 (All Her Winter Clothes)
6. Cutting Out
7. Megalomaniac
8. Scarecrow
9. No One Sees You Like I Do
10. Here We Are (Again)
11. Everything I See Makes It Feel Wrong