If Wilco raided the Velvet Underground’s wardrobe, stole the Kinks’ haircuts, and then teamed up with Cursive, you’d end up with an image of Rotary Club’s newest album. The band’s experimental, ever-changing lineup packed in a thick sphere of homages on its sophomore attempt Second Year in Swine, but while the LP weaves in plenty of innovative subtleties, Rotary Club’s sound plays it safe by catering to fans of major alternative artists of both recent and long-gone years.
In the opener, the groovy “Get a Room,” the protagonist lays out complaints against those whom he feels just don’t understand love the way he does. Singer Tom Devaney seems to placate himself more than the prudish onlookers taking offense to his PDA as he sings, “lip-locked, luminous, no one can see / Don’t take offense to these unruly passengers.” Behind his lyrics, a blend of cello, post-Beatles revivalism and French à-go-go challenges the classicism of his imagined onlookers. Later on, “Union?” emulates a despondent Morrissey chatting on about his apathy towards a relationship, but in a Joseph Gordon-Levitt-singing-drunk kind of way. “Misery loves company / And there’s a line behind you,” Devaney wails.
The album also includes a number of jam-session songs, such as “Millie’s Variety,” a daunting track with a little march to it and a lot of reverb. Mid-way through “The Shameful Demotion of Pluto,” you’re stuck with a Television-esque stretch of mathematical bopping. However instrumentally inclined this track may be, the vocals are prominent, and strangely reminiscent of campfire sing alongs.
While the whole of the album varies in style, it has a muddled and adult feel throughout. “Multicolored Rings,” touching on this confused middle-aged man theme, has Devaney singing softly, “but don’t bleed, don’t bleed blue / It’s alright, it’s alright, blue’s entirely fine to bleed.” He adds some instrumental variation on “Cat Piss Styx,” and manages to pack in thick, bluesy guitars. As well as drawing on heavier, more distorted sounds, a few tracks, including “Capsule” and “Multicolored Rings,” play off the late rebirth of folk music.
As a slew of artists are turning to folky roots music for inspiration, Rotary Club’s latest effort joins the trend. However, the band also makes sure to include nods to the major outfits that have sparked innovation and led to the musical possibilities at which we’ve arrived. Second Year in Swine would be nothing without the weirdness of the ‘60s, the post-punk revival of the early 2000s, or even the broken cage of music induced by experimentalism. Rotary Club caters to nostalgic fans and wannabe hipsters—you’ll either enjoy the conglomerate of homages, or you’ll appreciate something new.
Voice’s Choice: “Get a Room”
