As Tall As Lions- You Can’t Take It With You (***½)

People aren’t comfortable with things that land in the middle of the spectrum. Why you ask? Because they can’t assign a name to them, they can’t classify them. People are far more comfortable when something IS, or it ISN’T and if it’s PERHAPS, well then all best are off.

As such, New York’s As Tall As Lions are in the same boat. Too hooky for Pitchfork’s snarky elitism and too dense for mainstream radio, these Long Islanders attempt to take their arena ready indie pop to the masses on their own terms. What they present is You Can’t Take it With You, an album that focuses on creating atmosphere rather than bite sized sing-a-longs, an album that’s rich in texture.

To help achieve that goal, it’s clear that a great deal of time went into the crystal clear production of the record. On the opening “Circles,” listeners are treated to snappy drums, Dan Nigro’s syrupy tenor, and Saen Fitzgerald’s angelic guitar work. “Circles” is positively pristine, introducing listener to the dream-like quality of the rest of the album with a fairly concise track.

This is perhaps the band’s greatest strength: The ability to make a 3 minute song seem like a 12 minute musical journey.

It doesn’t stop there though. The r&b flavored title track is awash with thick harmonies and jazzy bass work while the shuffling “Duermete” is a spacious piano laden number that makes careful use of Fitzgerald’s shimmering leadwork. Nigro sounds fragile on the track, his disciplined voice rising and falling as the song drifts by, and the band really focuses on using the space between the melodies to make it haunting. There is a dreamy quality to much of You Can’t Take It With You, and As Tall As Lions really seem to mine that for all it’s worth.

But make no mistake; this isn’t just a record that sounds good. Nigro’s lyrics can be fairly confrontational when he’s not too busy professing his love to his lady. The jaunt 70s inspired piano of “Is This Tommorrow?” sports lines such as, “As children grab their guns and line up to die, doll/And our hollow headlines, oh they just prove to warn/Yeah, calling in the time's read today/If you're not confused then you're not really...” Against a stutter-stop backbeat and dizzying bass line, Nigro rages against apathy with deft wordplay rather than frantic screams. His voice is emotive but never reckless, and finding a pop band with that much insight is a rare feat.

Elsewhere, the melancholy intimacy of “Sleepyhead” is another on of the album’s highlights with lines such as, “Where I am's nowhere it seems/When thoughts of you get a hold of me/I squint my eyes and try to see/Just where's the line between a coma and a dream…” Against a sparse background of soft keyboards and delicate drumming, As Tall As Lions have an incredible talent for making poignant situations seem innocuously safe.

It’s a fascinating writing style; one that warrants their albums repeated listens.

Yet for how brilliantly the band seems to synthesize these elements into great songs, the album has some glaring flaws, namely, that As Tall As Lions did not go far enough. While You Can’t Take It With You has a noticeably more soulful vibe than it’s self-titled predecessor (The old time jazz/Charles Mingus-flavored “We’s Been Waitin’” comes to mind) the band’s lost some spontaneity in their exploration of sonic texture.

As Tall As Lions deftly explore looser rhythms, unconventional drumming patterns, and off kilter melodies, but the musical climaxes are far too familiar. Where their self-titled reveled in lush instrumentation and hooks that truly stood out, this record’s more relaxed pace bogs down some melodies that should really explode. “Go Easy (See The Love)” should be positively expansive but its predictable rise and fall make it simply okay. And in addition to losing steam on the latter half of the album, You Can’t Take It With You simply doesn’t contain songs that pop out at listeners.

While As Tall As Lions expertly balance a myriad of influences and parts, this is the first time those parts tend to outshine the whole.

All in all, You Can’t Take It With You is a fairly strong release, if an uneven one. The disc neatly hides nuggets of brilliance that are fun to unpack, but the experience is nowhere near the overwhelming satisfaction gleaned from their self-titled. Yet perhaps this album, like As Tall As Lions’ sound, isn’t meant to firmly reside on one side of the fence. Perhaps, the band intended to craft an album to explore, rather than to simply turn up.

If that’s the case, fans will have to be comfortable with appreciating You Can’t Take It With You for what it is.

Key Cuts: Duermete, We’s Been Waitin’, Is It Tomorrow?

Sounds Like: Illuminate (Lydia), The Needle, The Space (Straylight Run), The Alchemy Index Vol. III: Air (Thrice)

Click on the artwork to sample some of You Can’t Take It With You for yourself!