Dominant Legs
Invitation
Rating: 2.0/5.0
Label: Lefse
For all its peppy bounce, the first LP from Dominant Legs (guitarist Ryan Lynch of Girls and keyboardist Hannah Hunt) is a mostly empty affair. The title Invitation suggests a poor man’s Celebration (MGMT being a hipster-lite Daft Punk), and the impression is basically correct. Echoing tales of a party once told at some other party that the unreliable narrator might never have attended, there isn’t much of real substance. The chorus on the opening track, “Take a Bow,” is set to a synth line so basic in progression it could have been found on a children’s program: “As we go round and round and round/ We go up and down and down/ As well.” (Yes, those are the actual words.) Flaccid melodies plod on predictably, underlined by decent musicianship, and become quick victims of the lyrics in all but a few cases. Even with the help of some inspired moments and the exuberance of its two players, it’s sort of like a washed-out photo, nonspecifically banal.
The outcome is not from inferior effort, though. Technically, Lynch and Hunt aren’t bad at what they do, springing with eagerness from end to end on the album, particularly on tracks like “Hoop of Love” and “Where We Trip the Light.” But even then, the most that is muttered is reminiscent of a sort of watered-down Kevin Barnes side project or more straightforward and derivative Neon Indian (an accomplishment in itself). Yes, it hearkens back to a time most of those listening never lived through, and, yes, it attempts to infuse it with that same portion of inspiring contemporaneousness. But the sum is a bit less than its parts, owing to sloppy mixing and lazy, unimaginative songwriting infecting most of Invitation. “Take a Bow” kicks off with energy brimming from the duo’s harmonies and disco guitar splashes, promising to the point where that atrociously simplistic chorus sinks the tune entirely. The album’s third track, “Already Know That It’s Nice,” unfolds like it’s accompanying a scene in a 1980s flick set at a high school dance and is as preciously “pop” as that would require.
“Lady Is Sleek and So Petite” (bringing the Kevin Barnes-as-Prince imitation full circle) floats by barely upon the denser, more exceptional richness of the sounds buoying its choruses. Its techno-style bridge comes across as out of place, and the rest prances hollowly in vague New Wave tones. The back end of the album compounds the problems. Incoherent melodies and stilted vocals mar “2 New Thoughts About U,” a low-point plaguing the latter half that reaches a nadir in “Make Time For the Boy,” a song as poorly thought-through and wholly unoriginal as its name implies. When the nearest kin is the most recent Architecture in Helsinki releases, you’re in trouble. The album closer, “Loving Now” attempts to right the ship, unfurling gracefully and more unified in its electro-electric fanfare. But it just isn’t enough. This is an Invitation I would respectfully decline.
by Joe Clinkenbeard
Key Tracks: Hoop of Love, Where We Trip The Light
