Tarpits and Canyonlands [LP]

Bombadil's second full-length release, Tarpits and Canyonlands, offers more of the North Carolina band's versatile folk-branded indie rock, with strong melodies guiding the way through varied, richly arranged, mostly acoustic tunes. The opening track, "I Am," announces the experimental if ever ear-friendly tendencies of the album with repeated phrases that add up to "I am lost in the sand building you a pyramid." The more conventional "Honeymoon" has a classic folk/singer/songwriter vibe, with acoustic guitar and vocals collecting drums, piano, and eventually strings as the track progresses. Similarly, "Reasons" could fit seamlessly onto certain Beatles or '60s folk albums. The `60s/'70s-Beatles-singer/songwriter flavor could actually describe much of the record, that impression perhaps aided by a hint of Cat Stevens in co-lead singer Daniel Michalak's voice. The album is sweetly hummable at its most sedate and rousing at its most dynamic, and all of it simmers with psychedelia. It's also often unpredictable, meaning it holds your attention even at its 15-track length. "Kuala Lumpur," for example, begins as a waltz with group vocals, percussion, acoustic guitar, and balalaika or similar instrument, then adds piano, changes time signature, and transforms into a foot-stomping, hand-clapping celebration, all an ode to the locale. On the album level, the short instrumental "Prologue" resets the ears mid-way through with pitch-sliding strings and pulsating brass. A Spanish-language track, "Laurita," is also in the mix. Tarpits contains some silliness, like the borderline children's folk tune/"Magical Mystery Tour"-type oddity, "Oto the Bear," with its seeming nonsense lyrics ("Oto the bear just couldn't kick it/Berries crushed microphones concert ticket"). More typically, the lyrics -- sometimes humorous, sometimes sincere, and often observant in nature -- are about getting through life, evidenced by song titles including "Sad Birthday," "Honeymoon," "Marriage," and "So Many Ways to Die." Tarpits and Canyonlands isn't Bombadil's tightest album, but its variety and unpredictability come off as creative and interesting rather than unsettled. For those who enjoy the sound, it's an album of discovery that holds up to repeated plays, eccentric and intriguing. ~ Marcy Donelson