With a cathartic release of muted melodicism, the title track in Boat of Dreams offers us a glimpse at the sonic adventure that is Puppets for Poets’ debut album with a radiant glow. Faceted with a dreamy groove that sways to support introspective, somewhat self-aware lyrics, the song layers one heavy tone atop another but makes sure to stop just short of becoming overwhelming.
As the hum of the warm guitars fade away and we get into the step of the aptly titled “Distance,” the postmodern trappings of the complete tracklist become impossible to ignore. Our singer whispers his lyrics plainly and sweetly in between the vibrato, and it isn’t until he starts in on the plaintive “Garden” that we realize this is just the tipping point of his abilities. “Garden” pendulously stares down a smoky melody that punctuates the instrumental backdrop with impunity, but our singer isn’t about to let its rattling ominousness steal the limelight from his poetic verse.
Following a bold introduction, “California” takes center stage and injects a vinyl-quality melody into the mix that brightens up the dark trail left behind by its predecessor. It doesn’t take long for Puppets for Poets to jettison back into the vortex of spacey experimentalism though, and “Electric Theatre” might just be the most haunting contribution to Boat of Dreams.
Driven by a reverberating bassline that puts so much pressure against the beat that it feels like the track is about to come apart at the seams, “Electric Theatre” is mischievous and yet welcoming. Every nuance in this song’s foundation is essential to its elegance, from the rigidity of the tempo to the radiant crooning up top. This is a hard track to forget, and I can already tell it’s going to become a favorite of Puppets for Poets fans in the future.
“Miss You” isn’t quite as cinematic as “Electric Theatre,” but its glassy opening melody is so sharp that it’s able to stay sonically on par with the rest of what we’ve heard so far. Once the song warms a bit, it boasts a lot more cumbersome harmonies than what it initially suggests, and I would say that ultimately it’s one of the most elaborately constructed songs on the whole of Boat of Dreams. “Time” splashes us with surrealism before “Interstellar Baby,” which throttles as much emotion at us as “Electric Theatre” does low-toned confidence.
The focused “Why Why Why” flirts with both sides of the postmodernity coin; not only does Puppets for Poets know how to be ironic and reverently creative with their music, but they also know how to be witty and earnest when it matters. The cavalier “Lost Again” wraps up Boat of Dreams on a particularly striking note, and upon its conclusion, it leaves in its stead a yearning for more of this content. Puppets for Poets’ virgin album feels like a formal projection of their definitive sound, but perhaps it is the first stepping stone in a long evolutionary journey. In either case, it’s a fantastic way to enter primetime, and I couldn’t be more impressed with its substance-filled material.
Mindy McCall
