Hapless, engaging, at play in a psychedelic finger-painted kaleidoscope world of tonal color, transplanted Maritimer Jared Brown has been prolific since hitting the fertile turf of Montreal’s gritty streets, several collections under his own name and with his band The Lobs, creating shambolic, instantly gratifying and completely unique takes on the world, girls, life and assorted emo shit that serve to highlight his sheer ability to both write a hook and make it interesting. Brothers and sisters, this kid has hooks in spades. Drums might stumble, the tuning might waver in and out but if you like a bit of GBV hooky-ness with jangling guitar driven wail of Dinosaur Jr, you will love this. Interstitial noisy fiddly bits frame the songs perfectly, the odd, floaty texture of songs like “Coraline” or the anthemic “Fish Out of Water”, instant classics both. There is a gift at work in the songs that you have to squint to see sometimes, but damn if this album isn’t something that should be considered an underground legend, a sun-damaged Love Tara for this generation.
