THE WASHBOARD ABS
"Have U Scanned Ur Club Card?"
(Antiquated Future Records)



Delicate chamber pop for the lost at sea. At once nostalgic, dreamy, ethereal, haunting, and beautiful like a sunset remembered on the last day of something big. Intimate, minimal, and full of wonder.

The Washboard Abs is a great name, though I suppose I expected a surf band and was pleasantly surprised by the lush songwriting that came forth. The whole thing goes by quickly, which is a compliment as sometimes this kind of thing can drag on if too many songs re-tread ground. Easy to keep flipping the tape over and over.

Not morose in a sad bastard kind of way but there is honest sadness here. The opener plays out feeling like a bittersweet mourning. The harmonies on The Day Draws Nearer evoke two people on either side of a breakup - emotions run high no matter which side you're on. Plus it's got great whistling (eat your heart out Andrew Bird).

In closing: keep your head up out there, folks; it's a wooly world. You might be sad now but The Washboard Abs are gonna help you through it.

Highly recommended.


-- Greg Hanson