Rays
' second album marks a major shift for the band, one that makes a world of difference. After releasing a debut that was woolly around the edges as it mixed scrappy
Flying Nun
-inspired guitar pop and jagged, lo-fi post-punk,
You Can Get There from Here
is a slight step in a different direction. They've ditched some of the punk in favor of a mid-'80s indie pop sound that would have sounded good wedged between classic
Pastels
and
Dolly Mixture
singles. There is a lighter, bouncier feel to most of the tracks and loads more jangle in the guitars, and the band added a synth and organ player to the lineup.
Britta Leijonflycht
's synth waves and organ fills add a new dimension to the arrangements. It almost feels like the work of a new band, except that the deadpan vocals of bassist
Eva Hannan
and the mopey warble of guitarist
Stanley Martinez
haven't changed much. Now it's clear just how much
Martinez
is inspired by the vocals of
Stephen Pastel
, especially on the slow-rolling "To the Fire" and the sweet-as-punch "Fallen Stars," which leads the album off on the right foot. Only a few songs near the end of the record have the angsty energy of their debut; mostly the band is content to blithely rock in
Shop Assistants
fashion ("The Garden"), get a little bit psych-poppy ("Yesterday's Faces"), strum softly in very introspective fashion ("Around the Town"), or crank out brightly hooky ("Earthquake") and big-hearted ("Before Sunrise") tunes that do an admirable job of measuring up to the work of their idols.
could have kept making records like their debut and that would have been just fine. For
to refine their sound like they did and come up with something classic-leaning and still full of spark and life was a more impressive feat, and fans of old-school, non-twee indie pop really owe it to themselves to seek out
. ~ Tim Sendra