The Scrabbled: Making Fun of Each Other since '99

It’s the fall album I’ve been looking for. It’s got a great little touch of energetic melancholy that’s perfect for this time of year. There is a hurdle though: the vocals. The main singer’s voice (there are two) sits somewhere between Kate Bush and Antony, so if you find yourself easily annoyed by strange singing styles, this album definitely isn’t for you. But if you can get past his falsetto — or, like in my case, really grow to enjoy it — there are some fantastic songs here.

If you don’t think you can tolerate the vocals, at least check out the title track which is fronted by the bands lower-registered crooner of a second singer. It will definitely make the next few mixes I make as it’s a great stand-alone track, but like all of my favorite albums, it’s even better within the context of the album.

I don’t mean to focus so heavily on the vocalists because, in my opinion, the real stars of the band are in the rhythm section. The percussion itself is what first drew me in, with a sort of dancey, upbeat, semi-tribal virtuosic style that ends up working in all sorts of odd little knocks and hits that make me grin just thinking about how much fun it must be to play. The guitars themselves tend to sit on top, either drenched in fuzz and reverb laying texture, or punching in, in their best Gang of Four staccato, and playing alongside the vocals. It ends up as something that you could entirely remove the vocals from and it’d still be great.

I don’t think it’ll be my album of the year or anything, but it’s definitely one of the most solid albums I’ve heard all year from start to finish. There’s not really a single skippable song here. Go grab it and let me know if you agree.