Still cranking out catchy indie-pop hits, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin announces the release of their 6th album, The High Country to be released June 2nd. Recorded in Seattle under Superchunk’s Beau Sorensen, The High Country is full of blissful energy and well-organized indie-pop tracks.
Hailing from Missouri, and joining forces in high school, the trio Philip Dickey, Will Knauer, and Tom Hembree had their first indie debut back in 2005. After blowing up all over music blogs in 2006 and appearing on an episode of The O.C. the band caught a load of indie-cred. Not releasing anything since Fly By Wire’s drop in 2013, The High Country is a great reminder of why it is effortless to fall for undemanding, indie-pop and the urge to crank the volume up when listening to something as catchy as “Step Brother City,” a single off of The High Country.
Although their roots may lie in indie-pop, there is no denying the post-punk vibes off the album. The first few tracks off of The High Country remain light and fun but following those, SSLYBY digs themselves into a darker, deeper hole of experimentation and distortion. The moodiness on “What I Won” ends in a distant scratching guitar and the fast-paced roaring of “Trevor Forever” is complete with noisy guitaring underneath the screaming lyrics of Dickey. The second half of the album lends itself to more raw material. “Song Will” amps up the guitar distortion into heavy, fast-paced lyrics and energy.
At only a quick 11 songs, The High Country never feels forced, over done or hollow. Each track feels fresh and resilient. “Full Possession of Her Powers” is a cute and breezy as crisp guitars riff underneath Dickey’s light and breathy vocals. A quick, energetic collection of tracks, The High Country is enjoyable the whole way through and is a breezy reminder of how experimental indie-pop can be so darn catchy and addictive.
Rating: 7.0/10
Exactly! I mean I could not just create a discussion point and say, “Okay guys, today we’re going to talk about loss and death and losing loved ones! WHOOHOO! Let’s go!” but under cover of a song, these topics become palpable. I think songs strip away a layer of vulnerability – vulnerability that makes us hesitant to talk about these type of topics.