On the follow-up to their 2021 debut LP Undressing Minds for Show, this Philadelphia alt-rock quartet sheds some of the U2 and R.E.M. comparisons of past reviews. The opening “Desiderata (Free Tyree Wallace)” has a driving, Visqueen/Snow Patrol-like crunch; Matthew Taglang’s ardent, pensive voice even bears hints of Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody. Translated from Latin as “things desired,” the song is a pressing appeal for justice in Philly resident Wallace’s wrongful murder conviction and 26-year incarceration. (Aside from the song, the band have a more personal involvement, as guitarist David Perry is Wallace’s attorney. And on November 4, just before the EP’s release, the 46-year-old Wallace was indeed freed from prison, after that 1997 conviction was vacated and he was resentenced, allowing him to vote in the presidential election. Perry and Wallace provide a concise explanation of the case on Jason Flom’s Wrongful Conviction podcast, which you can listen to here.)
Elsewhere, the grinding, psych-infused “Still Got Time” recalls The Dandy Warhols, and the stirring, cinematic “Floating Over Floodwaters” evokes Ian McCulloch’s solo work. Sure, Perry’s lustrous, ringing guitars still periodically channel The Edge and Peter Buck on dreamier numbers “Bury the Lede” and “Changeable.” But when Taglang sports a Bono-esque croon on the lofty, euphonious “Waves,” it feels rejuvenating, not grandiose.
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