CD Reviews

Ducktails | The Flower Lane

Domino (2013)

By LIZ PELLY | January 23, 2013

3.0 Stars

The first three full-lengths by Ducktails (a solo project started by Real Estate guitarist Matt Mondanile while studying at Hampshire college in 2006) experimented with re-contextualizing and re-imagining pop sounds. Following several full-lengths, singles, and tapes on some of the most venerable of small-run labels (Not Not Fun, Olde English Spelling Bee, Woodsist), this fourth LP is Mondanile's first foray into traditional pop, per se, with members of Big Troubles as his backing band. Whereas previous Ducktails albums collaged pop ideas with kaleidoscopic filters and home-recorded hiss, The Flower Lane distills those disparate parts into a more firmly structured songcraft, sewn together with psychedelic guitars and dreamy imagery. Mondanile collabs with guests like Daniel Lopatin of Oneohtrix Point Never and Madeline Follin of Cults, whose guest vocals on "Sedan Magic" are a highlight here. It's not as challenging as previous Ducktails recordings, but a pleasant pop record nonetheless, and the band's most universally accessible yet.

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