It's Frightening

iTunes Review

From the spare, staccato drums of the compelling opening track “Percussion Gun” to the urgent and gloomy “Lionesse,” another percussion-heavy tune, It’s Frightening (produced by Spoon’s Brit Daniels) aims for a less-is-more aesthetic, while injecting a darker, cryptic vibe throughout: we’ve departed the Tropicalia dance party of Fort Nightly and find ourselves in a sophisticated, noir-ish, city landscape. The tones are cool grays and midnight blues, and scenes play out slowly and stealthily. “Rudie Fails” has a typical spareness to it, even thought there’s a lot happening: a clanging tamborine is muted in the background while resonant piano chords, lacy guitar picking and clattering percussion weave in and out of foreground and background vocals. “Midnight and I” is starkly beautiful, from its hollow snare drum to the carefully layered piano and jagged shards of guitar, while the clacking rhythms and spy guitar riffs in “Right Where They Left” are frugal and effective. The open spaces and clean production show the New York sextet in a new light — under a dim lampost on a foggy city night, at an hour that offers only trouble.