2 out of 5

Label: Antiquated Future

Produced by: Inanambulance (recorded by)

In a much more kindly reviewed take, I had thoughts about Kill and Dress that aligned with my equating Tucker Theodore’s label – Antiquated Future – to Matador Records, hearing pieces of Pavement folksy jangle, and just a 90s indie rawness, tickling the Built to Spill and Modest Mouse-sounding ivories at points, all shot through with a creaky, punky urgency that maybe recalls Bright Eyes. The majority of the songs’ structures are pretty strong, finding a balance between loose and purposeful that offers familiarity with just enough edge, and the album composition makes sense, going a bit more experimental and bare in its midsection, then closing on some of its strongest cuts.

But in a review that better reflects my overall experience, all of the references above moreso irked me: all the stylistic stuff just felt like a put-on, and to a point of diluting the effectiveness of most tracks. Theodore doesn’t need to screech and vocal fry like Conor Oberst; the lo-fi reverb effect tossed on the vocals at all times isn’t the necessity of single-track recordings; and flipping between guitar theatrics and mournful strum just seems indecisive. The chops are there, but all seems applied as affectation.

Two tracks near the end hold the key for how this stuff can work: In Arms’ back half is instrumental, which allows Theodore, and his band, to focus on pace and precision – juxtaposing a lo-fi intro with a calculated buildup to plugged in rock that manages more sincere emotion than any of the fully vocal tracks. And singing through a track can also work, given that Tucker drops any shtick: such as on closer Stars In My Hat. There, Theodore finds a singing voice that seems more natural for the artist, sans the pretense of forced-sensitivity. The song is also notably more refined than anything else on the album, still using reverb, but in a heavy-duty Grifters style approach.

As with a lot of “sounds like” artists, I think if you hear Tucker before his influences, the work surely has more merit. However, I’d wager that, if those influences have you exploring them, you might wind up in a similar spot as those of us who lived and breathed 90s indie rock: hearing a surely talented artist doing a kitchen-sink impression of their heroes, in a way that stylistically jumps around a bit too much and sounds a tad insincere.