5 out of 5

Label: Barsuk

Produced by: The Starlight Mints

From the incredible bombast of Dream to the comparative minimalism of Built on Squares, what were we to next expect from Starlight Mints?  Would they continue to retreat from the Flaming Lips-isms down a road of Shins-ness?  Were they a flash in the pan, petering out after a strong impression and a wake of incessantly catchy songs?

…And they appeared on Barsuk, which doesn’t help prevent me from conjuring images of pretty boys and girls and cutesy Death Cab sadly sweet pop, so… Shins?  Right?  That’s settled?  Wonderfully: no.  Whatever focus or opportunities the label afforded the group, Drowaton was the first of two mighty albums, both of which gathered the notes of before and fuzzed them up, re-shuffled them, into something recognizable but new.  Drowaton – more directly than the electro-pop gloss of followup Change Remains – broaches all sides of the Mints’ emotional / stylistic spectrum, from silly (opener ‘Pumpkin’) to contemplative (‘Inside of Me’); rockers (‘Rhino Stomp’) to heartrending (‘Sidewalk’).  This could be said of the previous albums as well, but those discs felt, at moments, like they were co-opting a style for style’s sake, whereas Drowaton feels inspired from start to finish, the songs swinging between these different tones organically.  The group also seems to have a keen sense of how they want to sound: it’s a rich record, but it’s mixed appropriately, with hints of glitter for the astute listener but otherwise letting the core pop elements ring proud and strong.

Maybe it’s because it finally hits the 40 minute mark (barely), but Drowaton comes across as the first real Mints album, a wholly satisfying experience, and not just candy-coated, catchy toe-tappers – though you’ll surely still be head-nodding and toe-tapping along.