The Autumns

Nearly four years on from their Simon Raymonde-produced breakthrough album In the Russet Gold of This Vain Hour, the Autumns return with a self-titled disc that builds upon the group's previous work but adds enough new and intriguing textures to make it sound considerably more compelling than their occasionally derivative early releases. The Autumns have always worn their influences proudly: besides Raymonde's Cocteau Twins, obvious touchstones include My Bloody Valentine, Another Green World, post-minimalist composer Wim Mertens and his '80s chamber pop group Soft Verdict, and seemingly everyone who ever recorded for the Belgian label Les Discs du Crepuscule. Yet while those influences and comparisons are still clear on these 13 songs, Autumns is the group's first album that works as a cohesive whole, on which the songs both complement each other and effectively exhibit different sides of their musical personality. In this context, songs like the spacious, reverb-enhanced "Heartsick on the Open Seas," which could almost be a 21st century shoegazer homage to Santo & Johnny's classic twang ballad "Sleepwalk," fit perfectly next to the cascading vocal harmonies and wind-chime-like guitars of the expansive "Wonderfully Wonderful." Besides the group's improved songwriting and performance chops (singer Matthew Kelly in particular has improved greatly since their 1997 debut), new producer and mixer Ben Eshbach, of L.A. art-poppers the Sugarplastic, doesn't impose the same sonic palette on to the band that Raymonde did on their previous album, with the result that Autumns is a more idiosyncratic, organic album than anything the group has previously attempted. [3d Japan's 2008 edition included bonus tracks.] ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide