Earlier this week, Husbands released Full-On Monet, their stunning third LP. Danny Davis and Wil Norton described their second LP After the Gold Rush Party as “pop culture allusions in a fun yet unsettling postmodern mélange,” and the new release progresses this quite seamlessly while blending a number of genres, shoegaze and dream pop included – take the irresistible haziness of “Kilby Court” or the beating heart percussion of “Postgrad Hymn” as prime examples. “Garth,” our favorite track, pays homage to Davis’s hometown with a slightly tongue-in-cheek narrative:
You can’t miss it. First thing you see in Yukon, Oklahoma is the water tower that proudly reads “YUKON: HOME OF GARTH BROOKS.” Danny grew up in this smallish town, cruising Garth Brooks Boulevard, aka, Main Street, USA. This song’s about living in the shadow of greatness, the struggle for some to transcend a small-town mindset, and the sensation of cruising the main drag and feeling mixed emotions of nostalgia, joy, and ennui.
The song is the epitome of charm and whimsy – the instrumentals are bright, playful, and pastel-toned, the sonic equivalent of an impromptu summer tennis match given its inquisitive back and forth, stop and go vocals (“Wake up / Snoozy / Did you / Miss me? / I’ve been / waiting / at your / door / What’s up / With you? / Do you / Get the / feeling / we’ve been / here before?”). “There’s not much to see / unless you look a little harder,” they explain patiently to the one visiting this smallish town, the bouncy guitar and warm synth radiating outwards like sun rays. It evokes a feeling I know I’ve never had before, but one that feels familiar all the same. Isn’t that the beauty of nostalgia, though?
Full-On Monet is out now.
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photo courtesy of artist
kid with a vinyl 