More

With third album More, Arp brainchild Alexis Georgopoulos took an unexpected turn from the more experimental neo-Krautrock and avant-garde leanings of his first two albums, opting instead for more traditional pop structures and careful tributes to some of music's most visionary thinkers. The first striking thing about this set of songs is how organic all of the instruments sound, with Georgopoulos dropping much of the synth sounds of previous albums for acoustic pianos, chiming guitars, and church organs, complete with their whispery built-in drum machines. Tracks like the softly orchestral "A Tiger in the Hall at Versailles" and "High-Heeled Clouds" owe much to the influence of the more chamber pop phases of Brian Wilson, Van Dyke Parks, and even the harpsichord-driven sad-hearted songs of the Left Banke. Elsewhere throughout the record, Brian Eno comes up as a clear reference point, be it on the Here Come the Warm Jets-styled fuzz pop of the romping "Judy Nylon" or the detached vocals and softly melancholy feel of the ballad "Light + Sound." Georgopoulos wears these various influences on his sleeve, but mixes up the sounds enough to keep More an interesting pastiche of ideas. Field recordings, electronic bubbles, and phased-out guitars segue the songs into each other, and bridge a doo wop-themed number like "More (Blues)" into the beachy reverb of "Daphné & Chlöe." While the jumping-off points are clear, enough personality and disjointed arrangement keep More moving along in a way more familiarly dreamy than derivative. ~ Fred Thomas