Lanky – Odd Hour Work Week

Lanky – Odd Hour Work Week / 2005 Imposter / 9 Tracks / http://www.lankymusic.com / http://www.canarypromo.com/lanky.html / Reviewed 11 May 2005

Lanky has shifted eir general sound slightly to a more indie-rock type of feel, as the beginning of “Odd Hour Work Week”, specifically “Falling Hard For The Girl”, shows. The reedy flute comes into play during the second track, “Crashing The Car Is Learning To Drive”, which maintains a cool, detached sound even with the inclusion of this organic instrument. The differing sounds that struggle throughout “Crashing” really provide a few different paths for listeners to take. I mean, it is possible to take a quite different path on “Crashing” if one takes the emotive and impressive bass lines of Nick or the Erasure-esque electronics on the track. The more sedate style of “How Many Pieces?” really bring the sound back to the previous album, brining back the memories of a whole slew of singer-songwriters. What is exciting about Lanky is the fact that eir can construct a track in such a full and complete way without trying to make everything fit together perfectly. What is always the most compelling thing about bands are the fact that they can adapt to change successfully, something that one-person bands typically do not do (rather, just falling kit and caboodle into them).

The dual vocals of a track like “Why Are You Trying To Rush Me?” provides an equal coupling comparable to the guitar/drum dichotomy on this disc. The tempo might be middle-of-the-road but everything else about the track screams radio play, whether it be the catchy arrangements or the easily remembered lyrics on the track. Breaking completely out of eir comfort zone for this track, the controlled chaos found as another set of vocal rises at those times when the main set of Lanky’s sink.

The martial drumming on “Almost Right Where I Want To Be” provides the track with the most tension of any of the tracks on “Odd Hour Work Week”. The guitars also work to provide a snowballing effect; taken almost directly out of “The End” by The Doors, this track is timeless as well as breathtaking. There is a richness around Lanky that is not to be found amongst eir contemporaries, and as soon as ey hits it big, people like John Maher will be exposed as the shams they are. Lanky’s music may not test all the boundaries of this alterna-rock framework, but provides listeners with an ever-changing and always-impressive style of rock. Definitely on par with Lanky’s live effort, but essential in the sense that this album provides a different facet of Lanky that is not shown on the former.

Top Tracks: Almost Right Where I Want to Be, Crashing The Car Is Learning To Drive

Rating: 6.3/10