Koufax

Strugglers

[3/5]

Although Koufax reside in Lawrence, Kansas, the pure-pop sensibilities of that town’s most famous sons-i.e., Ryan and Rob Pope of the Get Up Kids, who were in Koufax for a spell-no longer dominate their aesthetic. In fact, Strugglers finds the piano-rock quintet in the middle of an identity crisis. Much of the album is obsessed with the sound of über-cool New York bands-from Talking Heads’ rhythmic disco and worried vocals (“California Taught Us Well”) to the Strokes’ mumbly jangle (“In The Name Of Love”) and the Walkmen’s lurching Bob Dylan-isms (“Roll The Dice”). Some of these experiments work-the tracks with a decidedly no-wave saxophone skronk are especially wicked-but others feel five years past their hipster expiration date, which merely cements the fact that Koufax excel when they focus on straightforward, keyboard-heavy pub-rockers. (DOGHOUSE) Annie Zaleski