When American Music Club dissolved ten years ago, the band had just reached the height of its career. They were truly an indie-rock “it” band, becoming critical darlings and attracting the attention of major labels. Their robust blend of folk, rock, pop and country, displayed on epic albums, soared masterfully through the headphones of indie college kids everywhere. Ten years later, it doesn’t look like anything’s changed.
On their reunion album, Love Songs for Patriots, the San Francisco quintet has produced an inspired, impressive collection of songs without a trace of their ten-year hiatus evident on the entire disc. Lead singer Mark Eitzel’s voice, a husky folk croon, weaves poetry exploring everything from down-trodden introspections to male strippers. Behind his voice, guitar, keyboard and drum form a dense acoustic texture. The album is sometimes harshly operatic, as illustrated on the opening track “Ladies and Gentlemen” and sometimes soft and delicate such as on “Myopic Books,” “Song of the Rats Leaving the Sinking Ship,” but the ultimate result is an extremely cohesive album, united by a uniquely understated sound.
“Another Morning,” the second track on the album, is an immediate highlight, with acoustic guitars and pulsing piano coming together beautifully with Eitzel’s quiet lyrics in a bridge that embeds itself firmly in the listener’s head. In stark contrast, “Patriot’s Heart” follows “Another Morning” with a harder beat and striking, sensual beat poetry: “I’m your rod and your staff…and after a few tequilas, I become something holy.”
The album cover art depicts an orchestra playing underwater, with a fisherman seemingly oblivious to the concert that is taking place beneath him. Perhaps this is the most appropriate illustration of the album’s feel. With each listen, something always seems to be lingering deeper, below the surface.
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