Boyfriends – Secret Cities Boyfriends – Secret Cities (Buy)

Fargo North Dakota, the enigmatic setting for the famous Coen brother’s film, hails an enigmatic group with a refreshing debut album. Pink Graffiti, the debut album from Secret Cities, is a bold wash of catchy melody and creative instrumentation marked with ambient undertones.

Original members MJ Parker and Charley Gokey met as teenagers at band camp. Early collaborations and songwriting were done by passing cassette tapes back and forth adding to each other’s songs using 4 track recorders. Something that instantly struck me when I listened to this album was the maturity of this group. Some listeners may hear similarities between the production of Pink Graffiti and the production of the many young bands touting the beloved lo-fi sound. But I believe to lump this album in with the low-fi movement is to overlook a lot of the creativity involved in the tracks off this record.

Opening song “Pink City” takes a winding path multiple tempo shifts. The song quickly swells into a marching drum beat, followed by hand claps, followed by a triumphant solo, finally settling in a sleepy dragging sound with layered vocals. The solo is especially striking to me in its style of it. It actually reminds me of late Lennon work: Melodic and tension driven. There’s a technique to it that is uncommon.

Next up is the song “Boyfriends.” This is my favorite song off the album. It depicts a friendship with Brian Wilson, chief songwriter for The Beach Boys. One technique I find to be one of the strongest musical devices is when the lyrics and aesthetic of the song match. The premise of hanging out with Brian Wilson is a dream like fantasy. “Boyfriends” is itself a playful dream sequence complete with whistling, low toned inaudible utterances and a ton of reverb. Well done.

At this point I am struggling to talk about this album without going song by song. Although the LP does share a similar production quality throughout, new ideas and elements are introduced with each song. Pianos, string instruments, organs, and choir vocals all show face as the album progresses. Many of these parts accented by clever drum patterns and time signature changes.

My only criticism of this album is that I am not completely smitten with any one particular song. The tracks are all very good, but Secret Cities hasn’t hit perfection yet. The LP has however, inspired me to follow this band to see what comes next. I give Pink Graffiti a 8.2.