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| Flood Magazine |
Ducktails - Jersey Devil (New Images Limited)
Released: October 6th, 2017
New Jersey based indie-rock group Ducktails is back with there sixth studio album, Jersey Devil. Ducktails is the solo project of guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Matt Mondanile. Mondanile is also a member of the soft-rock/indie-rock group Real Estate. Jersey Devil is released on Mondanile's personal record label New Images Limited.
I'm a huge fan of Matt and his work, especially is last full-length album St. Catherine (2015) and even more so The Flower Lane from 2013. Ducktails are known for their very light and dreamy psych-pop, and that continues on this new record. They also add elements that provide a more nocturnal and relaxing vibe.
The lead single "Map to the Stars" begins with featherweight synth-work along with a tight drum machine pattern. A synthesizer/flute sounding melody appears as well, sitting on top of the mix nicely. The chorus vocal from Mondanile is nice as well. This is a solid single and a great way to start off the album.
The second single "Light a Candle" includes these guitar leads that are almost shrieking. Pushed through some distortion pedal, the guitar pattern leads the way outside of the verses. Some spacious and airy synths create a nice layer throughout. "Light a Candle" is not one of my favorites on the album by any means, but it's a decent single; nothing to write home about though.
Other highlights from the album include "Lover" and "Mannequin".
"Lover" kicks off with a very slick drum pattern along with a smooth bass line. The guitar sections that accompany the instrumentation is very pretty and gentle. The vocal progressions prior to the chorus are also a nice touch. We also hear some very groovy and thumping tom fills and rolls during some of the verses. Although the lyrics are pretty empty, this is a decent track in a collection of not-so-good ones.
"Mannequin" is a great track. The hard hitting bass kicks along with the drudging bass line complements the synth work and keyboard arrangements. Again, we hear a very airy and transparent vocal from Mondanile; nothing that sticks around in your head. Besides that, this another solid track.
Truly, this album didn't too much for me. This is extremely unfortunate because I'm big Ducktails fan and I have been waiting for a new record for a little bit.
It sounds like Mondanile re-used many guitar filters on multiple tracks which gave off the feeling that not each song was unique, but a different version of the same thing. For some reason, on this record I really could not stand his vocal performance for that long. Once you get about halfway through the album his voice becomes very tried and boring.
Tracks like "Keeper of the Garden" contained gorgeous synth-work, but I felt like his vocal did not mesh with them at all, especially during the chorus.
"In the Hallway" is a song that reminds me the most of a Real Estate track. To be honest, it has a nice melody and guitar section, but Matt chooses to use the shrieking guitar filter from "Light a Candle"; and it already feels hackneyed, even though only been used in two songs.
I do believe that Mondanile successfully created a vibe and/or aesthetic to surround Jersey Devil. The drum machine sonics and synthesizers provide a nocturnal/80s/chill feeling. Overall, I enjoyed the drums throughout but each song needed a little something extra to take this album to the next level. Although this album did have some nice guitar filters and synth patches, I just needed so much more as a listener.
This album is very chill, very relaxing, calming, etc. But after a few listens, it just becomes boring. Listen below...
Listen: Ducktails - Map to the Stars
Genre: Indie-Pop/Indie-Rock/Alternative/Chill-Pop/Soft-Rock/Psych-Pop/Synth-Pop
Rating: 4.5/10
Fav Songs: Map to the Stars, Lover, Mannequin
I'm a huge fan of Matt and his work, especially is last full-length album St. Catherine (2015) and even more so The Flower Lane from 2013. Ducktails are known for their very light and dreamy psych-pop, and that continues on this new record. They also add elements that provide a more nocturnal and relaxing vibe.
The lead single "Map to the Stars" begins with featherweight synth-work along with a tight drum machine pattern. A synthesizer/flute sounding melody appears as well, sitting on top of the mix nicely. The chorus vocal from Mondanile is nice as well. This is a solid single and a great way to start off the album.
The second single "Light a Candle" includes these guitar leads that are almost shrieking. Pushed through some distortion pedal, the guitar pattern leads the way outside of the verses. Some spacious and airy synths create a nice layer throughout. "Light a Candle" is not one of my favorites on the album by any means, but it's a decent single; nothing to write home about though.
Other highlights from the album include "Lover" and "Mannequin".
"Lover" kicks off with a very slick drum pattern along with a smooth bass line. The guitar sections that accompany the instrumentation is very pretty and gentle. The vocal progressions prior to the chorus are also a nice touch. We also hear some very groovy and thumping tom fills and rolls during some of the verses. Although the lyrics are pretty empty, this is a decent track in a collection of not-so-good ones.
"Mannequin" is a great track. The hard hitting bass kicks along with the drudging bass line complements the synth work and keyboard arrangements. Again, we hear a very airy and transparent vocal from Mondanile; nothing that sticks around in your head. Besides that, this another solid track.
Truly, this album didn't too much for me. This is extremely unfortunate because I'm big Ducktails fan and I have been waiting for a new record for a little bit.
It sounds like Mondanile re-used many guitar filters on multiple tracks which gave off the feeling that not each song was unique, but a different version of the same thing. For some reason, on this record I really could not stand his vocal performance for that long. Once you get about halfway through the album his voice becomes very tried and boring.
Tracks like "Keeper of the Garden" contained gorgeous synth-work, but I felt like his vocal did not mesh with them at all, especially during the chorus.
"In the Hallway" is a song that reminds me the most of a Real Estate track. To be honest, it has a nice melody and guitar section, but Matt chooses to use the shrieking guitar filter from "Light a Candle"; and it already feels hackneyed, even though only been used in two songs.
I do believe that Mondanile successfully created a vibe and/or aesthetic to surround Jersey Devil. The drum machine sonics and synthesizers provide a nocturnal/80s/chill feeling. Overall, I enjoyed the drums throughout but each song needed a little something extra to take this album to the next level. Although this album did have some nice guitar filters and synth patches, I just needed so much more as a listener.
This album is very chill, very relaxing, calming, etc. But after a few listens, it just becomes boring. Listen below...
Listen: Ducktails - Map to the Stars
Genre: Indie-Pop/Indie-Rock/Alternative/Chill-Pop/Soft-Rock/Psych-Pop/Synth-Pop
Rating: 4.5/10
Fav Songs: Map to the Stars, Lover, Mannequin
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