Weinland
Breaks in the Sun
Rating: 2.5
Label: Badman Recording Co.
Although Portland may get more press for its indie rock bands or the cool people who move here (Stephen Malkmus, Isaac Brock), it has a vibrant folk/acoustic/older music scene. On any given night, you're just as likely to catch singer-songwriter folk or rootsy pickathons as electronic noise made by kids with bad haircuts. Led by Adam Shearer, Portland's understated Weinland have something in common with peers like Norfolk and Western, Horse Feathers and M. Ward. They all make intimate music that reaches back and that avoids any trends and frilly production, focusing on the songs and playing. The dangers of mostly acoustic music (often lazily grouped under the catch-all of "folk") is that it can veer towards the overly earnest or dull, like current overhyped local favorites Blind Pilot, who may remind you of the stuff you'd hear at college coffee houses.
On their third album, Breaks in the Sun, Weinland doesn't entirely avoid the singer-songwriter trap. The music is always tasteful and the playing always efficient, but there's nothing very exciting about it. There are hints of country on various songs and Neil Young's mellower side on "I'm Sure It Helps," but the band doesn't delve very deep into their influences and roots and the album remains on the surface. Shearer's vocals are pleasant and he sings in a soft, sedated way that recalls Sufjan Stevens and Iron & Wine's Sam Beam. Unfortunately, it can be too delicate and hushed at times. Perhaps it's unfair to expect more energy or oomph from an album that clearly doesn't aspire to such qualities.
The songs that stray from this formula are the most memorable. Closer "Piano Hymn" features lush strings and pushes the ten-minute mark, much of its second half just a lone, steady drum beat. "I Feel Wasted" has an appropriate washed out sound, ghostly mood, and far away vocals that recall Mark Kozelek. But more often the band favors gently melancholic and nostalgic songs like "The Letters II," in which Shearer recalls a girl and gets a little sentimental with lyrics like "You looked so pretty/ I could never love anyone else."
Breaks in the Sun is likable and listenable, but easily forgettable. One hopes that Weinland will explore more adventurous territory on future releases.
by Lukas Sherman