Dignan Porch
always teeter between heartbroken -- and heartbreaking -- eloquence and shambolic pop, and on
Observatory
, they tip toward their appealingly scruffy side. Recorded in frontman
Joe Walsh
's apartment, the band opt for a brighter, simpler approach than they took on
Nothing Bad Will Ever Happen
. It's a move that suits the
Porch
's move from
Captured Tracks
to London imprint
Faux Discx
, as well as these simple yet somewhat aloof songs. The title
implies a certain remove, and the band spend equal time examining feelings as they do expressing them. Fittingly, there's a slightly hallucinatory feel to much of the album, whether on the swirling psych-grunge hybrid "Harshed" or the aptly named "Veil of Hze," a gently trippy ballad where
Walsh
sighs, "There's a veil of haze that makes me doubt if it's true." That distanced, numbed feeling rounds off the edges of
's lows; instead of the devastating insights "Like It Was" or "And Now Are Not" offered previously, the band deliver wry bummer-pop like "Dinner Tray" and "Wait & Wait & Wait & Wait," both of which reaffirm
's mastery at making feeling bad sound good. Even on the album's poppiest moments, the band can't completely abandon their bittersweet essence: "Deep Deep Problem" tries to play it cheeky with sing-song choruses and buzzy keyboards, but its solo hints at greater emotional depth; meanwhile, "Got to Fly" manages to get more introspective and insistent at the same time. While
's mix of jangle pop, psych, grunge, lo-fi, and whatever else they can get their hands on isn't quite as cohesive this time as it was on
,
still has plenty of indie pop charm. ~ Heather Phares