Rogue Wave: Descended Like Vultures

admin on Nov 23rd 2005

After the surprise success of the soundtrack to “Garden State,” record companies have been only too happy to cash in on anything bearing even a feint resemblance ever since. Consequently, 2005 has seen an unprecedented influx of indie-pop releases, veritably causing the good to become indistinguishable from the bad amongst a flood of soundalikes. Whereas Brendan Benson, Jack Johnson, and Devin Davis deservedly earned warm receptions early on in the year, the likes of OKGO, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and The New Pornographers have marked a saturation point of dulcet choruses and sugar-coated harmonies. Quite simply, we’re reaching a level of overkill in the catchy department, and this cynical re-working of what “pop” is by the labels has left me as an indie-pop diabetic. Having been acquainted with Rogue Wave’s “Out of the Shadow” just before this tide began, I had to wonder whether their latest release, the aptly titled “Descended Like Vultures,” would be able to revive my ailing interest in the genre.

Whereas 2004’s “Out of the Shadow” was ostensibly a solo effort whose ear-candy confounded listeners in all the right ways, Rogue Wave’s sophomore release is the end-product of a four-piece who have made a conscious decision to inject a little more heaviness into matters. In place of a hushed lo-fi quality uncannily like Elliot Smith comes a more vivacious spread that, instead, could be accused of sounding dangerously similar to some of the acts already mentioned. Thus, releasing this album after such a slew is a confident move indeed, but Zach Wave’s songwriting is more than able to weather the seas of soundalikes, and those already fond of his sweetened songwriting sensibilities will not be disappointed.

Demonstrating this amped-up transition, the gratifying opener “Bird on a Wire” features a falling guitar line cutting uncompromisingly into the end of each verse with great volume, and the effect is elaborated on even further with a subtle smattering of electro-like feedback towards the song’s end. Similarly, when “Publish My Love” bursts in on a gust of distortion, and has its chorus propelled with Pat Spurgeon’s thundering bassdrum, it’s clear that the main idea here is to consciously give Rogue’s songwriting some extra strength, building it up with a tougher exterior, however superficial that layer may be.

How and ever, the new changes ring in a comfortable level of diversity if nothing else, and “Descended like Vultures” is certainly the better for it. “10:1,” on the other hand, is the perfect example of sounding a little too like every other indie-pop band, and it’s a moment we, and Rogue’s songwriting, can do without. No matter how they’re dressed up and filled out, one can’t escape the feeling that these songs were all written on an acoustic as simple saccharine reveries (like the Norweigan Wood-esque “California”) and have been given a makeover in an attempt to avoid the inevitable comparisons to label-mates The Shins - an inclination that seemed set to dog Rogue Wave’s career after “Out of the Shadow.”

By the time we reach “Are You on My Side,” it’s clear that Rogue Wave’s songs feel infinitely catchy and memorable while you’re listening to them, but, somewhat inexplicably, seem to lack a magnetic pull; as with the previous release is, it’s quite easy to enjoy this thoroughly without finding yourself being drawn back to it. Yet even if that is the case, there’s surely more than enough here to earn it a place right alongside the best of the scene’s current crop, though any commercial success may hang in the balance of the album’s timing.