The Kingsbury Manx - The Fast Rise and Fall of the South

Genre rock Publisher Yep Roc External Links Official Website Yep Roc Records

The first thing I noticed about The Kingsbury Manx's fourth full-length album The Fast Rise and Fall of the South was all of the "untraditional" 3/4 and 6/8 meter; there is nary a standard 4/4 song until track 5 and not many after. I was intrigued and impressed but also a little worried; it can be difficult to craft distinctive songs above the waltz-y feel of the rhythm. Fortunately my fears were unfounded. Well-crafted lyrics, vocal hooks and shifting instrument focus (more piano here, more acoustic there, a smidge of strategically placed distortion throughout) keep the songs from blending into "Oom Pah" repetitiveness. Another absence (not to be confused with "loss") is the complete lack of any kind of solo which, by its very nature of not standing out, is a credit to the strength of the song writing. There isn't anything hugely experimental going on here. If you want an album of solid acoustically-based song writing, you won't be disappointed. It is well-produced by long-time friend of the band Mikael Jorgensen (Wilco) with an excellent sense of balance for both instrumentation and texture. This isn't going to wind you up for a crazy Saturday night on the town; this is more of an introspective, mellow album for cleaning on Sunday when you're hung over.

The album kicks off with "Harness and Wheel," a poignant working mans' ode that recalls Neil Young's Harvest. "And What a Fallout" (the song whose lyric the album title is derived from) features wonderfully circuitous backing vocals that cycle and blend smoothly throughout an unconventional time signature. The third track, "What a Shame," deserves a mention simply for its unique, yet unforced, bass drum accents. My very favorite track turned out to be "1000 8." It begins unassumingly but then builds to an ebullient outro with perfectly placed distortion, fearlessly swelling and lifting the song to its highest potential. I want to start cheering out loud every time I hear it. Pure joy. Lyrical hooks from "Snow Angel Dance" and "Greenland" found their way into my psyche as well as the chorus from "900 Years," a track that ends prematurely and could benefit from further development. "Nova," reprises into a rousing and uplifting nova-esque ending, a transition that could stand to be even more dramatic. The only real disappointment was the outro of the last song "Ol' Mountainsides" for ending with piercingly meandering distortion I wouldn't normally have a problem with, but in the context of such a consistently lovely album, overstays its welcome and should be cut off about 10 seconds earlier.

The Shins? Sure. I'd even go as far as Red House Painters on a happy day and Grandaddy on a mellow one. There are also several recognizable White Album-era moments, particularly on the codas. The song changes are effortlessly interesting, melodic yet unpredictable and not obviously abrupt for the sake of variation. There were moments when the stops weren't pulled out enough and others when they were pulled out too much but overall this is an album I would recommend to anyone with an ear for quality songwriting.