âWHO THE FUCK said my band sounds like pavement,â Cool Americanâs Nathan Tucker tweeted on July 11, âiâll fight them.â
Fair enough. For two decades now, â90s heroes Pavement have had an outsized influence on indie rock, with Stephen Malkmusâ prickly licks and pouty lines living on in seemingly every new guitar-pop group. Bands are understandably leery of the comparison.
Whether Tucker likes it or not, You Can Win a FewâCool Americanâs new album on Portland label Good Cheer Recordsâdoes have its share of Pavement-y sounds. But hereâs the interesting thing: Itâs not necessarily Malkmusâ Pavement that courses through these songs, but Scott Kannbergâs.
Kannberg was Pavementâs guitarist and second songwriter, contributing a couple of tunes per album that provided an aesthetic break from Malkmusâ distinctive style. Kannbergâs songsââKennel Districtâ from Wowee Zowee and âDate with IKEAâ from Brighten the Corners, for exampleâtended to be airier and more unabashedly pop-focused, like slanted rays of sunshine in a landscape of smirks.
With song titles such as âStruggle for Motivationâ and âLonely Cigarette,â calling You Can Win a Few a ray of sunshine is probably overstating things. Lyrically, Tucker teeters on the line between quarter-life anxiety and wearily hopeful introspection.
But musically, bright spots abound. In âPlaying Along,â a buoyant guitar line and Tuckerâs roller-coaster vocal melody make a charming pair. âSolo Yoloâ is a nifty little shape-shifter that shows off Cool Americanâs stylistic range. âWhoâs Got the Next Cut?â picks up the pace, verging on sloppy, poppy punk rock, Ă la Superchunk. (Generally speaking, Tuckerâs vocal tone recalls Mac McCaughan much more than those aforementioned guys from that âPâ band.)
Cool American ably takes its foot off the gas, too. âOdds,â with its tumbling momentum and chiming string bends, sounds like a mellow early Modest Mouse rambler. The tastefully twangy guitar swoops of âShake Off the Dustâ and âConsumes Itselfâ could reasonably place Cool American alongside East Coast buzz bands Pinegrove and Big Thief in a trend story about young/new acts coloring their crunchy guitar-rock with the sounds of country music.
Of course, most bands donât want to be tied to a trend or compared to an ancient forbearer, no matter how credible that forbearer may be. And thatâs fine: Cool American has the goods to stand on its own. These songs are strong, the melodies memorable, and the arrangements show ambition and a sense of adventure. You Can Win a Few is terrific, top to bottom.