eMusic Review 0
The last entry for 2010 on Ducktails' website announces, with touchingly unbridled glee, "I finally moved out of my parents house [sic]" — presumably the site of conception for much of Matthew Mondanile's fizzing hyp-pop over the last three or so years. How much of Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics, his latest full length under the moniker, was rehearsed and recorded in the family home is uncertain. But there's no mistaking a distinct tonal shift from the crackling loops and ramshackle echoing of his debut Landscapes toward a brighter, fuller, less self-consciously woozy sound, one that bears closer resemblance to his work with Real Estate than it does with the increasingly ubiquitous glo-fi vibes of Washed Out, Ariel Pink, et al.
Opener "In The Swing" is a good case in point, stating its admittedly gentle intentions with shimmering major-key guitar jangles and subtly phased melodies, drifting amenably into the more pronounced but equally lackadaisical strum of "Hamilton Road." "Sprinter" and "The Razor's Edge" layer up the lo-fi quirks a little more, with the latter's glint of sci-fi minimalism shifting the album's perspective towards foggier, moodier climes, and Panda Bear offers a vocal contribution on "Killin The Vibe," where his… read more »
