Since her days with
the Fiery Furnaces
,
Eleanor Friedberger
's travels have sparked some of her best music, and
Rebound
is no exception. Following her tour in support of 2016's
New View
and that year's elections, she spent some time in Greece, reconnecting with her heritage and exploring the local music scene, including a late-night goth club that became the album's namesake. The change of setting, musically and geographically, did
Friedberger
good: These are some of her most surprising and engaging songs since she started her solo career. With the
Fiery Furnaces
and on her own, her appreciation for different kinds of music has always shone through her work, and the way she reinvents the sounds she heard at Rebound recalls her reimaginings of classic rock on her earlier albums. Rebound the club is more of a spiritual inspiration on
the album than a literal one; when she refers to the nightspot on "It's Hard," she sings, "It's like '83/or '82/or '85/It's hard to tell," while the music sounds more like '70s soft rock than
Bauhaus
or
Sisters of Mercy
. As she sets poetic lyrics to subtle hints of '80s pop, her charismatic vocals remain the focus. "Let's dream of goodbyes/But don't go," she whispers on "The Letter," a lovely showcase for her skill at mood-setting. On "Are We Good?," she fashions a story about what gets lost in translation and what is universal out of vignettes -- a couple getting engaged, a dog barking in the wrong language -- and imbues the titular chorus with new meaning each time she repeats it. Despite the intricate songwriting,
is also some of
's poppiest music in some time. "Everything" is as sunny as the Mediterranean, while the easygoing centerpiece "Make Me a Song" is filled with the kinds of realizations that only come on vacation ("It takes the ear to hear the waves"). Throughout the album,
captures the joys of doing nothing slowly, whether on the moody rambling of "My Jesus Phase" or the slow dance of "Nice to Be Nowhere." A musical getaway,
finds
freed from expectations, and with a spring in her music's step that hasn't been heard in some time. ~ Heather Phares