Sic Alps – Sic Alps

The earliest offerings from Sic Alps were filthy lo-fi affairs drenched in fuzz and ear-splitting distortion. Their sound got cleaner by increments moving from vicious visceral experimentation towards a tighter more accessible song structure. The self-titled Sic Alps is their most poppy excursion to date recalling The Beatles and the spangly psych-pop associated with Nuggets compilations.

The album opens with a lush string arrangement, the work of new collaborator and Joanna Newsom band member, Ryan Francesconi. The combination of the strings and the opening line “up a periscope” immediately triggers associations with Yellow Submarine and Sgt. Pepper inextricably steeping the album in a sixties aesthetic.

‘God Bless Her, I Miss Her’ is a languorous surf number which pays a lazy homage to the likes of The Beach Boys and Dick Dale. The surf guitar solos are played with signature sloppiness. While this nonplussed style is distinctive it is also slightly frustrating. The song could be positively joyful if played with a more vigour and enthusiasm, but instead the band sound like they’re self-consciously trying to sound like they’re not trying which is, ultimately, a little trying.

Other touchstones are Alex Chilton’s Big Star and Elliot Smith. In the mournful ballad ‘Thylacine Man’ you can actually hear fingers squeaking across guitar strings. Although there is something to be said for the intimacy this kind of lo-fi production engenders, the delivery here is a little laboured and lacks the aching sincerity of the aforementioned influences.

Laziness is definitely a theme here. In ‘Lazee Son’ they sing “Lazy son you seek your independence/Lazy son loves to sleep all day”. It could be a metaphor for the band. The string arrangements and melodies indicate that they want to move towards a more polished sound but the pace of the album indicates that they haven’t quite got the energy to fully implement the change. Even the fact that they have chosen to self-title their fifth album seems a little indifferent.

However, when they abandon the affected slacking there are moments of pure psych-pop magic. The mixture of strings and tambourines in Moviehead is deliciously psychedelic and energetic. What’s needed is less reticence and more abandon. If they can achieve that on their next album then they might finally live up to Stephen Malkmus’s famous assertion that that Sic Alps would be one of the most important bands of the next ten years. As things stand they’ve got a long way to go.