Chimpomatic

First up, comparisons with My Morning Jacket are inevitable. On the first few listens, I had to check that Jim James himself wasn't providing the vocals on a couple of tracks. With that in mind, the chase cut to as it were, let's base the review around that knowledge. Let's suppose that MMJ had a younger brother, who hung around the practice sessions and was witness to their particular brand of genius. He's maybe thinking to himself, yeah that's pretty good - but those extended, distorted solos are a bit distracting, at times they get in the way of a nice, clean, imaginative pop song. I like the reverb on the vocals, I'll have that (It's possible that a couple of tracks were actually lifted straight from the outtakes of a MMJ session - Part One and I Go To The Barn Because I Like The could well be from At Dawn). The result is a charming, dreamy album with enough emotional weight to demand full attention. Comparable to MMJ and completely comfortable with that comparison.

Apologies, if you've never heard of My Morning Jacket. If this is the case, I can only presume it is your first visit to Chimpomatic - welcome.

Update: With the Chimp team seemingly in approval, it looks like this is going to stay the distance. I'm prepared to admit it when i'm wrong: This is not just a good album, it looks like it's going to be a classic.