IVY
In the Clear
Nettwerk
· Check out guest appearances by Smashing Pumpkin James Iha and Scott McLeod of Girls Against Boys.
Some of my favourite guitar-based music is low-key, mid-tempo rock songs. Low-key, mid-tempo rock albums, however, are an entirely different story. The tension is amazing, but trying to maintain restrained energy over the course of a full-length can make for repetitive listening. Luckily, Ivy have made a career out of making mellow sonic heartbreakers. In the Clear is delivered with a variety of instrumentation and punctuated with enough emotion to make almost the entire album worthwhile. From the sedated Stereolab chug of "Nothing But the Sky" to the orchestral pop of "Thinking About You," lush vocals and quartz-precision timing is the order of the day. "I’ve Got You Memorized" and "Corners of Your Mind" may veer too far into boring Beth Orton territory, but the album’s only misstep is the horn-rimmed psuedo-disco of "Keep Moving." Transposing some of the best parts of The Verve and Coldplay into a female register, In the Clear is as good a chill-out album as you are likely to hear.
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