IN REVIEW: Walrus - "Family Hangover"

This album has been a long time coming for Walrus. The Haligonian band started up five years ago, releasing a couple of EPs and touring extensively (including some opening dates for Wintersleep, which is how I first heard them) before finally getting around to this debut record. Listening to Family Hangover, it's clear that great care was taken in their first full-length statement. While rooted in psych-pop, there are several styles at play over the course of its ten tracks; there are splashes of new wave, power pop and modern indie rock throughout, and its dreamy and full-blooded soundscape feel both methodical and organic.

Take the slow burning, jangly lead track Later Days, the sun kissed balladry of the title track's opening section, or the rose-colored R.E.M. jam Step Outside; all tunes that can be lazily pegged as psychedelic, but upon further inspection these songs aren't mere callbacks to the days of free love and LSD or blatant Beatles worship. There's a ragged modern charm running under the surface, a classic aesthetic filtered through contemporary methods. This is more apparent on the album's second half, as Free Again starts off with some percussive electronics, while Glam lays its bass-heavy groove on thick and is a little distortion away from being post-grunge. Closing track What Goes On, meanwhile, approaches alt-country territory en route to the album's most pleasing guitar work.

So yes, while on the whole Family Hangover hearkens back to a certain place and time, there are plenty of layers to peel back and darkened corners to explore; given proper attention and repeat listens, Family Hangover is a consistent and rich experience, and one that was certainly worth the wait.

June 9, 2017 • Madic Records
Highlights Family Hangover • Regular Face • What Goes On

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