3 out of 5

Label: Pitch-a-Tent

Produced by: Alan Weatherhead

Browsing the first few track titles of Koester’s debut gives a sense of time and place: Bucktown; Sweet Wheels of Summertime; Sweet Liquor Finale…  While the exact moment and location might differ per person, a general image of the discomfiting familiarity of home shimmers into thought: sweaty weather; the soothingness of a sunset mixed with the discontent of same-every-day stability…  Describing this, I realize that my midwestern sense of ‘home’ might differ from those growing up in a city, but I suspect there’s something relatable there in most people’s youth.

Steve Koester and his bandmates, as Koester, capture this half joyful / half uncomfortable reflection rather perfectly at first, even if it comes through a very narrow, lookit-the-pretty-girls point of view.  Those opening tracks are gloriously moody, the melodies shimmering into existence in the same tip-toe manner as the imagery mentioned above, flourishing into nervy obsessions on missed opportunities when the instrumentation kicks fully in, Steve’s rasp weaving in and out through it all.  The subject matter, as mentioned, is rather one-note, but relatable sensations are just beneath the surface, and when the music swells above the words, the feelings can easily overtake you.

The strength of this spell gets a little lost when the melodies taper down as well: the title track; Out to Pasture; Seven Mile Affair – all are interesting, but feel vague, not really adding to the emotional puzzle pieces so much as tackling them again in slightly less defined ways.  Valerie and Dear Mr. Tweaker follow, bringing back more swoon-worthy instrumentation, but still not adding much more to what’s already been said.  Closer It’s the Stacks is interestingly minimalist, but the track leading into it – Ash and Sadness – makes better use of this, calling forth to the stronger, more subtle work on followup album The High Highs and the Low Lows, suggesting that Steve can sing about more than just girls who make him sad.