Though admired by a spread of emo and indie rockers, Algernon Cadwallader initially thought of themselves an off-kilter punk band, and so they absolutely embrace that identification on Trying Not to Have a Thought. It’s their densest and loudest album, even when every member sounds extra managed on the entire. From the gnarled rock propelling “Shameless Faces (even the guy who made the thing was a piece of shit)” to the clever, ketamine-fueled post-punk of “noitanitsarcorP,” all 4 members sound energized, centered, and impressed by one another’s concepts. “There is no ‘I’ in Algernon,” Helmis yells with aid on the title monitor. It’s a testomony to the band members’ tight bond and the way their dwell reveals enable the general public to share in it.
In the band’s first run, Algernon Cadwallader had been typically criticized for being too in thrall to their influences: Cap’n Jazz, Joan of Arc, Owls. But even that supposed bullet bounces like a rubber band within the emo scene, the place the Kinsellas are commemorated like saints and concurrently acknowledged for the way they’ve continued to evolve as musicians through the years. Algernon want to try the identical, and the event of Helmis’ vocal ways on “What’s Mine” alone warrants the reunion album: He mumble-speaks like Phil Elverum, switches to pining lengthy notes, and lets melodic hiccups accent his transition from scream-yodel to full-on yell. Meanwhile, Tazza continues the custom of Analphabetapolothology’s childlike percussive loafing by casting a prism of pastel textures over “Koyaanisqatsi” with triangle, shakers, and diaphanous drum patterns.
Reinhart, who additionally combined the album, trains the highlight on the exact jabs of a buttoned-up fencing match with Mahony, his co-guitarist. The two dance round each other in equal quantity, mild on their ft, with intricate finger-tapping and rhythmic interaction that cherry-picks from Midwest emo, bluegrass, jazz, and fingerstyle guitar. In “You’ve Always Been Here,” atop Tazza’s regular beat and Helmis’ bassline, Reinhart and Mahony ramp up till their two guitars sound like 4, then six. The intentional frenzy of Algernon Cadwallader’s previous work is refined into contemplative passages (“What’s Mine”) and sugary Pop Rocks explosions (“World of Difference”) that increase your coronary heart fee with out mandating participation within the mosh pit. Tempting as it’s to credit score that melodic punk push as being solely Reinhart’s handiwork—he’s the band’s not-so-secret weapon, a producer for Beach Bunny and Modern Baseball—a better ear takes discover of the essential decisions Mahony makes in every of his complementary guitar components.
By ready to return to the drafting board, Algernon Cadwallader constructed Trying Not to Have a Thought on their very own time and in their very own approach. The temper is grateful and reflective, nevertheless it doesn’t boring their unruly type. The title monitor, the album’s centerpiece, introduces a simple, freewheeling hook that drips with bittersweet nostalgia as Helmis belts mouthfuls like, “I’m trying not to get caught in the backwash of an artificial world constructed by bloodsucking motherfuckers in an anti-social coliseum.” He’s having enjoyable, however he’s not placing on blinders for the sake of an excellent time. “Hawk” opens the album by grieving a highschool pal: Helmis remembers roughhousing and enjoying with pocket knives collectively, by no means imagining they’d run out of time. “A few of your favorite clothes from your high school wardrobe/Are the closest thing to having you back,” he sings. His bandmates know precisely how you can brighten pockets of the music to match Helmis’ elegy: “When we had the chance/We did it right.”