Unicycle Loves You

Album Review

Indie rock theoretically found itself in a state of open-minded health around 2008, though speaking from a distance, it was more easily obvious to note just how much it combined and recombined — and then recombined further — a fairly restricted pool of influences in many cases, plowing a well-worn furrow with enthusiasm but little sense of going beyond certain bounds. Thus Unicycle Loves You, which on the one hand shows an enjoyable enough range, but on the other hand betrays that its range is defined by rock, rock, rock, and...rock. Opening song "Great Bargains for Seniors" is practically emblematic of the positive and negative side to this: the vaguely wry songtitle, the smooth clip of the verses that have a new wave bite to them, the sudden rave-ups and time changes that hint at the love of musicals that seems to underscore a lot of what's out there these days, the bits of backwards guitars and other demi-psychedelic touches. It's all pleasant enough, but it's also so very familiar, and the end result is something that is so eager to please that it's hard to hate, but it's kinda hard to truly love, either. Lead singer Jim Carroll's deeper voice makes for a refreshing change after so many bad falsettos out there, for sure, and the backing singing from bassist Nicole Vitale makes for fun contrast at many points. Meanwhile, the keyboards by Adam Labrada throughout do add a nice leavening to everything, from the hints of drone on "Kiki Bridges" to the loungey feeling on "Yum Pla Muk" and the looping swirls on "Hawaii!," the album's high point. Beyond that, though, there's little to say — an enjoyable but not striking debut, there but not storming the heights.