Algernon Cadwallader

Algernon Cadwallader have studied `90s Kinsella recordings like they were on tomorrow's final exam. Some Kind of Cadwallader is the living, breathing resurrection of caP'n Jazz and American Football as it is precisely the type of intricate and meandering, yet relaxed indie rock fans of those bands will thrive on, with fragile sung/yelped vocals fronting it all.

There's a free-flowing vibe and unconfined sense of things all throughout Some Kind of Cadwallader, yet the quartet seem to have a firm grasp on their songs. Loose sing-alongs break out at sporadic points, with "ohhh man, it's taking me over" from the title track a sure-fire crowd response and "Motivational Song"'s "bop bop shoo wop" refrain playful and resilient. "Yo Soy Mi" breaks free from the minimal noisy dabbling of its previous track with an upbeat and energetic pounce at its outset, twisting along to the scratchy yells at the song's climax. Even the purposely out of tune fiddling in "In Response to Irresponsability" -- a song where the band sound coincidentally more like their peers in Look Mexico than anywhere else on the album -- works.

Plenty of elaborate instrumentation makes its way into the recording, too. None if it's listed, but what sounds like bongos, shakers, xylophone, keyboards and whistles (one being a slide, another a party) spice up the arrangements.

Among its mostly casual vibe, clever and engaging guitar interplay, fiercely raw harmonizing and even a Kinsella-like sense of bizarre syntax, Some Kind of Cadwallader is a pristinely pleasant and refreshing listen.

STREAM
Casual Discussion in a Dome Between Two Temples
Some Kind of Cadwallader
Motivational Song
Serial Killer Status