Poland
"Most of Them Are Clockwork" CDR
Series
Two Records
Genre: pop, indie pop
Seattle WA
June 13, 2009 |
The brainchild of
Mark Bombara and Mark Romanowski, Poland plays
elegantly quirky indie pop with deceptively effective hooks. On
Most of Them Are Clockwork, I am reminded of The Loch Ness
Mouse, Tindersticks, and little-known Crunchy Frog band
Learning from Las Vegas, especially in the vocals.
The first thing I
noticed about this record is that it is a remarkably hi-fi
production for prolific bedroom label Series Two. Poland's
songs are fully realized and ornamented, with an attention to detail
that makes it readily apparent that these folks know their way
around a pop song. Take "Von Neumann's Catastrophe," which matches
Romanowski's maturely tasteful vocals with a strolling banjo
line and a sweet reed organ melody. The result is addictively
pleasant. Other superb moments include breezy "Small Talk and
Miracles" and eclectic "Almost Metropolis."
Strings, piano and
other instruments help make this record engaging even at its less
intrinsically infectious moments, meaning Clockwork has a
knack for amassing repeated listens. I don't know how this release
came to be, but Series Two have uncovered a gem with Poland.
Certainly one of the better independent CDRs to come out last year,
Most of Them Are Clockwork deserves a spot in any pop lover's
stereo.
poland's myspace
84%
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 11 tracks, distributed by
the
label,
released April 2008] |