A Great Big Pile Of Leaves

BOOM! EP

Possessors of one of the worst band names since Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Brooklyn trio A Great Big Pile Of Leaves’ moniker sounds like a Blink-182 throwaway song title, but the music couldn’t be farther removed. Instead of goofy pop-punk, they make indie pop with a buttoned-down sophistication and the upright carriage of a chamber-pop act. Last year’s full-length debut, Have You Seen My Prefrontal Cortex, was thicker and busier, while BOOM! feels more reserved and focused, better balancing the elements they bring to the table. Frontman Peter Weiland’s reedy, airy voice shuffles laconically through bright tinkling pop arrangements with a tinge of jazz-lounge suave. Weiland’s a pretty skilled guitarist as well, playing acoustic and distortion-free/clean electric with supple intricacy that recalls Geoff Farina’s work in Glorytellers.

While the music’s crisp refinement may recall a less florid Belle And Sebastian, the sturdy rock backbeat brings them closer to Ra Ra Riot. You can especially hear it on “Drought Of Snow,” which is embellished with horns and what sounds like xylophone, making its way with a woozy sway across a martial beat and shimmery folk hook. “Learning Curves” opens with maracas and an acoustic guitar, recalling ’70s soft rock like Dan Fogelberg, as Weiland proposes a library rendezvous backed by female harmonies. “Alligator Bop” is a reworking of last year’s album cut, following this release’s ethos by scaling back the arrangement, removing the electric guitars and getting back to the bones of the song. It feels less burdened and moves easier, practically skipping to its effervescing hook. The finest of the EP’s four tracks is “This Is A Country Song,” which pulls out some “Baker Street” horns, sidles behind acoustic playing reminiscent of “Landslide”-era Fleetwood Mac over a driving rhythm. It’s at once dreamy, delicate and insistent, shuffling seductively in its gentle beauty. It’s not so irresistible that it will necessarily woo those not already predisposed to pretty, urbane indie pop, but fans of the style will find it well-crafted and crisply executed.

Topshelf http://www.topshelfrecords.org

“This Is A Country Song”