Practically every minute on The Uglysuit's debut
full-length sounds familiar, in mostly positive ways. These Oklahoma City
young'ns—barely into their 20s—haven't exactly perfected the art of
distilling their influences, so bits of other bands creep in: a sprinkle of The
Shins here, a light dusting of Wilco there, some Midlake, and a strong pinch of
Conor Oberst's voice on one track, "…And We Became Sunshine." There are enough
obvious antecedents that The Uglysuit can mix and match to make potent new
combinations—and the group tends to borrow mood as much as the tangible
elements. Their self-titled disc's clear highlight is the country-rocking "Chicago,"
which wrangles a chorus more forcefully than the rest of the wandering songs. "Elliot
Travels" is 80 seconds of pretty piano, which takes off into the choral, jaunty
"Anthems Of Arctic Birds," which in turn winds into the dirgey seven-minute "Everyone
Now Has A Smile," which at its swirliest moments recalls Ride. It never coheres
long enough to be truly transcendent, but The Uglysuit hints at greater things
to come—and offers up enough great, though too easily recognizable,
moments to recommend it already.