Taking Pictures
“Friends Are Ghosts”
(My Pal God Records)
“Sleep all day, sleep all year, for all you care, I’m not here.” And with that lyric, they had me. This is some feel good dreamy indie rock. Caress the guitar strings, slap them around a little, then apologize. “Pleasant” is a word that came to mind often throughout listening to “Friends Are Ghosts”. And sometimes, they even get creative and bust out of the meandering guitar lines and droning melodies. Some inventive approaches on the production side gives dimension to the distortions. At their loudest, they have a Jawbox stomp of clean guitars pushed so loudly they distort upon themselves. Also worth mentioning is how this three piece truly stretches within their format of a band. All instruments forge their own paths and rarely if ever double behind each other. While Mat Daly’s smooth, yet slightly raspy croon is the primary voice, yet all three add their layers in to thicken the wall of sound they weave around you like a friendly sweater.
Taking Pictures are not afraid to wander paths of repetition just to make sure you know how cool they find a certain guitar texture or riff. Works for me. If you are one of the 10 people who seem to know who the Owls are, picture that band trying to rock-out more than jazz-out. Taking Pictures would tour well with their label mates Ex-Models. The meandering structures are a bit distracting on the first listen, but become all the more commanding upon the repeated exposure. You will appreciate the band all the more for their diversions. Don’t let this one slip by unnoticed.
