For the last couple years, “indie” artists scrambling to make it onto the floor mix at Urban Outfitters have been playing the “Reinterpret the Theme Song to ‘Welcome Back Kotter’” game. The late 2000s saw fearless weirdoes Ariel Pink, Daniel Lopatin, James Ferraro and Destroyer toying with pastiche, neutered sounds of the late ’70s and early ’80s. They blended the white-collar, scotch-buzzed saxrotica of Steely Dan and the late-night, cocaine-buzzed yacht rock of Fleetwood Mac with a perverse dosage of cheesy, new-wave synth and the musty scent of your dad’s stale cologne. Sounds that had been deader than dead for the last thirty years suddenly became fair game. Of all the artists that have leapt to the AOR crusade, Ducktails comes as one of the most surprising.
Ducktails is the solo effort of Real Estate’s Matt Mondanile. Known for its effortless sound, Mondanile’s songwriting possesses the uncanny ability to conjure long-lost, warm memories of home and loved ones. His laid-back sunburned jams invoke floating on an inner tube in the midday heat of an eternal summer vacation. Which is what makes The Flower Lane so unexpected. It’s a summer album to be sure, but one for strolling alone through a foggy park on a hot night under the moon and stars, rather than down a sepia, sandy beach. It’s a bittersweet, introspective, sobering affair; a delicate and beautiful antique china doll.
But does Mondanile pull off this new aesthetic? Do I break a sweat every time I walk up Bascom Hill? The Flower Lane is a gorgeous testament to the ballads of love and love lost on the Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 album Rumours. “Sedan Magic” and “Letter of Intent,” easily two album highlights, are lovely call-and-response duets specifically reminiscent of the heartbreaking dialogue between Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.
A lot of the material on this album also feels like a sexy, gerry-curled homage to the elastic production of Thriller in the same vein as Toro y Moi’s new album Anything in Return. Scuzzy glam guitars bounce off the ghostly, ethereal synthwork of guests Daniel Lopatin (of Oneohtrix Point Never) and Joel Ford (of, uh, Joel Ford). “Under Cover,” another highlight, offers up smooth, mature textures, trying to cop a feel of Ariel Pink’s 2010 magnum opus Before Today, complete with a reverb-drenched sax solo that would have Michael McDonald eating his heart out. “What do the streetlights say to your eyes/When you’re all alone/In the middle of the night,” Mondanile winks on the chorus. Excuse me while I go take a cold shower.
A lot of fans have lamented that Mondanile merely hopped a trend with The Flower Lane. And they’re completely justified in doing so. Nevertheless, what is absolutely true of The Flower Lane is that it shows Mondanile is one of the most talented songwriters out there, and the guests he has strung along for this release are some of the most forward-thinking musicians in the game. Point being, The Flower Lane has capitalized on a trend, but it’s a trend that Ducktails pulls off better than most of their peers combined. And ultimately that’s what counts.
Grade: A/B
