Andrew DuncanCalpurnia
Scout
Royal Mountain Records
★★★
The aura that surrounds this band is Finn Wolfhard. The instigator of this pop strangeness, we recognize his demeanor from shows like Stranger Things and It. He is the one with the jabbing quips that bleed over to juvenile pop that jab at your perceptions. Until a debut is released sometime this year, they introduce us to them with the EP Scout.
The four-piece from Vancouver craft quirky pop that is almost, at first, ignorable if it were not for two things: the quirkiness of the songs involved and Wolfhard’s popularity. Abusing acoustic guitars strum in time to a crying slide, “Loui’s” heartbreak angst set in motion is perfect for any Judd Apatow backdrop. At first, it’s like listening to Beck’s One Foot In the Grave until it creeps up on you and makes you feel contradicted. Is this a glorious pop song setting sail into Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street territory? Or, is this a radicalized beach song? Either way, if you give it a chance, it’s intriguing.
Calpurnia – City Boy Official Video
“Wasting Time” is a group of musicians influenced by Archie and the Gang playing a ‘60s pop that burns into a great ‘70s rock guitar solo. It’s here where your jaw drops, and it sinks in.
I really like “Greyhound Pass.” It is timeless alternative pop that feels like heartbreak in the ‘90s that dimensionally tie in current times and its uncertainty. Their passion for music has led Scout to emit a glowing orb of slacker culture conflicted by psychology and how to get through a moment in time. In its rudimentary Pink Floyd essence, “Waves” drifts off into a melancholy slumber; a beautiful ending to this EP.
Without Wolfhard’s placard, it is difficult to give this album a chance. Was I expecting Scout to fail based on a first impression? Yes. Celebrity bands do not have a great track record. But this album is an exquisite corpse as you sit down and really dissect it. I may not agree with everything that is going on here in its infancy, but I can understand its potential in which I now cannot get out of my head.