Accents

Growth And Squalor

Written by: TL on 30/07/2012 14:39:21

Right, it seems I have time to squeeze out a second effort, trying to jump start my reviewing momentum, so let's have a look at the next record in my pile, namely "Growth And Squalor", the debut LP by American folk-rock duo Accents. On it the guys behind the moniker - TJ Foster and Ben Hemingway - play a stripped back singer-songwriter/indie folk style, often relying on acoustic and electric guitars together, and I guess one good thing you can say about it is that it hardly lends itself to direct comparison to any one other artist. I'd say that fans of Death Cab, Dear And The Headlights as well as folksier things like Ben Howard or The Decemberists; should all have a chance to appreciate this, but I make no guarantees because Accents, for better or worse, are certainly entirely their own band.

"Growth And Squalor" starts out good with a couple of engaging songs in "Underwater" and "Alright With Me", moving from a bluesy, rocking groove on the former into a more delicate, longing, almost REM-ish feeling on the latter. Both tracks have character, and are good for welcoming the listener back on repeat listens, but unfortunately the following songs quickly turn into sort of a lull for me at least, as I've continually found my attention wandering until track six "Storms". This is an almost entirely acoustic piece which prefaces two songs on which Accents showcase that they have ambitions of exploring the furthest reaches of their soundscapes, stretching the furthest on the delightful "Way Out", which employs a poppy string arrangement to set a bubbly mood that is one of the strongest details on the album in my opinion.

Taking a look from the top, "Growth And Squalor" is an album that, despite its occasional lulls, has enough uniqueness, diversity and curious detail, to engage the listener with relative consistency throughout its playing time. Its main problem is, at least from my own experience, that the feeling it leaves you with when it's done, is not a particularly powerful or memorable one. It's a simple and all too familiar case of you knowing that you will sing along to bits of lyrics and melody any time you put the disc on, but knowing just as well that such occasions will be rare, for the simple reason that a good number of bands these days have more pull; stronger character. All things considered then, I think this eventually manages to earn a hesitant:

7

Download: Way Out, Underwater, Alright With Me, Storms, Sorrow
For The Fans Of: Death Cab For Cutie, Dear And The Headlights, Ben Howard, Decemberists
Listen: facebook.com/Accentsmusic

Release Date 07.02.2012
Deep Elm Records

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