Review Summary: The debut EP of The Tallest Buildings displays indie pop songs that combine strange and catchy melodies with clever off-kilter arrangements that draw from a variety of musical styles. A promising band with the potential to make something truly great.
Michigan has become something of a cottage industry for introspective, delicate acoustic folk acts, so it's surprising to hear a band like The Tallest Buildings, who create a sort of explosively off-kilter indie pop that filters a wide variety of musical influences into a generally accessible and interesting package. The premise of the band is a trio of musicians that switches instruments throughout each song. While this sounds gimmicky, it seems to work in their favor, as their debut EP, Post Traumatic Address shows the band forging a unique minimalist sound that shows definite potential for future releases.
The curiously titled Drums For Birds opens with clattering tom-toms reminiscent of the drumming of Panda Bear or Drums Not Dead. Although this track clocks in at around 6:30, each subsequent verse and chorus uses a diversity of instrumentation and arrangement that propels the song to its exuberant coda. This track epitomizes the strength of The Tallest Buildings's aesthetic, as members switch between synths, glockenspiel, vocal harmonies, guitar, violin, and percussion seamlessly. These switches serve to suggest different stylistic conventions, such as the tremolo post-rock guitar picking to the bouncy samba choruses, without ever entirely committing to a full-on homage.
Sickly Sweet Cellos benefits from a more tightly-wound pop composition, and shows the aggressive abandon the band is capable of. While the lead vocals may suffer a little bit in intonation at times, they benefit from the endearing conviction of the performance, alternating between a strange tenor croon to full on yelps and screams. This track also shows the peaks and valleys The Tallest Buildings are capable of dynamically.
The last two tunes of the EP, Child Size Crosses and Arpeggio Lips, are both down-tempo pseudo-ballads, bringing things to something of an anti-climactic end. While perhaps not as strong as the first half of the album, they are not without unique merits. Highlights of the former include soaring vocal harmonies and a weird narrative about some type of post-apocalyptic shopping mall, while the latter boasts hip-hop influenced tom beats and a chaotically noisy ending that makes up for the overall bleak mood of the EP's second half.
While the pop that The Tallest Buildings crafts might alienate with its oblique lyrics and tendency for left turns, the melodies and forms are still deeply rooted in the indie pop tradition. The band would do well to embrace their penchant for angular, noisy chaos, distilling it into a more refined experimental pop package. Still, as a first offering, this album is a compelling and catchy listen with a unique atmosphere and great ideas.
