3.5/5 Stars
Waves to Watch: Our Own House, Hurricane
Genre: Indie Pop
Goes great with: LIGHTS, Bleachers, Vinyl Theatre
Because of "Reflections", crowds have fallen in love with vocalist Mandy Lee Duffy's odd, Kate Bush reaching voice. Somehow, it is nothing like some of the molded powerhouses of today, yet still as compelling, maybe even more. The track is an example of what MisterWives have found themselves: summoning haunting verses that take a funkier form in the chorus. A listener cannot fully realize what the song will be until their brains have stammered through the separate styles, divided by two equally important visions.
The other three songs that have been transported from EP to LP, "Hurricane", "Imagination Infatuation", and the penultimate "Vagabond", are a look back into lesser known times for the band, as well as a foundation for the sound that they are bringing. The latter is accompanied by a simple, jarring piano, while the "Imagination Infatuation" reflects on "Reflections"' structure and reveals Duffy's sassier, cabaret-style potential. "Hurricane", the strongest of the twelve tracks, lends itself to the era of 80's power ballad percussion and a hollowness within Campbell's guitar. MisterWives assures themselves by saying, "We will not care if we're the only people swimming in the sea."
Sometimes, however, some songs do happen to get lost at sea, as with "Not Your Way" and the fitting beach jam, "Oceans". Both are less cohesive as the others, following a cliche suit of "Not going to obey, obey/This is my party, party" and "You are my everything", respectively. Sometimes the phrasing is so off its track that even the most elementary listener must squirm in their seats.
"Coffins" hangs on by a thread, humming through the voice of a cathedral's organ. It shows off Duffy's peculiar way with words, especially when writing of the heartbreak that sails throughout the whole album, chiming "Your ego swallowed you and from there you fled." It can be easily forgotten by the wrong - or right - listener, however.
The track that shares its name with the album title's fills the listener's ears with first ethereal wisps and snaps, then a sharper horn-driven chorus. This song brings the funk that is often forgotten nowadays, while the fivesome reminisces, "And we swore on that day that it will never fall apart."
Both "Best I Can Do", while pleading for a change of heart, and "No Need for Dreaming", a seemingly synthed-up 50's high school favorite, are the party jams of the album. The latter plays as if the protagonists are spinning each other around at the school dance as the silver screen fades to black. Duffy twirls around the notion that "I will follow you til there's no beat left within me." "Box Around the Sun" sounds as if it could have been written by the great modern sonicman, Jack Antonoff, himself.
Sometimes, the phrasing can be thrown off, making even the most elementary listener squirm in their seat. It falls back into place eventually, but it dilutes the pure magic that the band is trying to conjure.
The finale, "Queens," both an homage to the NYC borough or a crowning of sorts, exhibits the mastery that MisterWives have created for an echoing closing song. Perhaps the most autobiographical - and fully realized - of the album, as Duffy dreams of her past doubts of finding a place to let her voice be heard. On Our Own House, it is evident that she has now found such a place.
MisterWives have built a house made of stone, still malleable only to themselves, yet a firm stake in the ground they pace upon. It is an impressive first effort of a full-length album, and these dozen songs are sure to tempt crowds to their live shows, as the band embarks on a spring tour. Frankly, MisterWives have built what their album set out to do, and their own house will not fall apart any time soon.
//Angelia//
