88/100

Written by: Murdoch Watson
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In an age when the idea of a cohesive album seems less important than a collection of 99 cent single downloads, it is refreshing to hear a set of songs that belong together. Here the experience is more rewarding when the album is listened to as a whole. That said, there is nothing revolutionary happening on “KIMF.”  Instead, we get reliable tracks like the sun-soaked folksy sound (read: early ‘70s California) of “Oslo Novelist” and “Left for All the Strays,” or the more country-rock Byrds-esque “Silver Among the Gold” and “Dig That Crazy Grave.

In 2008 Grand Archives released their debut album (“The Grand Archives)”, and while I enjoyed the album and found it to be a promising initial offering, I am fully aware that it is all over the place stylistically. It can be difficult to get a handle on a new band and their sound when the songs are so different from one another and don’t feel connected, even if you like them individually. Grand Archives front man Mat Brooke (formerly of Carissa’s Wierd and Band of Horses) explored with his new band’s various sounds, and that journey can be found on their first album. On “The Grand Archives” you could find the following: song most like Band of Horses: “Index Moon”; Sundance movie soundtrack-ready: “Sleepdriving”; potential radio-friendly hit: “Torn Blue Foam Couch”; and manic sing-along: “The Crime Window.” All songs are great on their own but together they feel uneven, as if your iPod was stuck on a Sub Pop playlist shuffle. With their second effort, “Keep in Mind Frankenstein,” Brooke and company take what worked best on their debut album (think: “Torn Blue Foam Couch”) and hone in on that sound. “KIMF” has an effortless feel that is very inviting, but it’s not all easy like Sunday morning. The first track is about Thomas Edison electrocuting an elephant, which obviously sets a dark tone that is carried throughout. The album was recorded at Paradise Sound in Index, WA, a sleepy town in the western part of the Cascade Mountains. (Trivia: Index is perhaps most known for being a filming location for “Harry and the Hendersons.”) The location is the perfect setting to record this hazy, country/indie infused album. GA has tapped into that early ‘70s America (the band, not the place)/California (the place, not the band) sound and the result is 35 minutes of well-crafted, harmonic songs that all seem to have a place together. I’m a major proponent of a 10 track album; anything past 12 and my ADD usually begins to surface. However, “KIMF’s” 35 minutes do seem short, though that reduced length allows for more frequent spins. I have listened to the entire album three times without really noticing.

In an age when the idea of a cohesive album seems less important than a collection of 99 cent single downloads, it is refreshing to hear a set of songs that belong together. Here the experience is more rewarding when the album is listened to as a whole. That said, there is nothing revolutionary happening on “KIMF.”  Instead, we get reliable tracks like the sun-soaked folksy sound (read: early ‘70s California) of “Oslo Novelist” and “Left for All the Strays,” or the more country-rock Byrds-esque “Silver Among the Gold” and “Dig That Crazy Grave.” If you blindly selected only one track to listen to as an introduction to “KIMF,” you would end with an accurate feel for what Grand Archives is all about, and that is a welcome improvement from last year’s release.