Lennings

“Tranquil and subtle sound hues come forth from The Lennings’ Big Beige Car. The Austin, Texas set of “brothers” have cut together a hazy summer day’s mix discussing abstract and everyday objects while incorporating a vast array of musical instruments. Yet the substance remains simple and never overbearing. Essentially, listening to this record will result in immediate obsession, and audiences should prepare to be both fascinated and aurally wooed.” - Glide Magazine

Though it is no secret I’m a fan of Austin’s The Lennings and the band’s first effort, Big Beige Car, I was nervous when they asked me to review their latest release. See, it has been my experience that many bands, at least when it comes to creating their sophomore release, suffer from an illness I like to call BiggerLouderBolder. I can only suppose this may sometimes be caused by insecurity, an over-inflated ego, or a combination of the two. Fortunately for The Lennings, it would seem they are thus far immune to this malady.

While everything about The Lennings’ Big Beige Car was beautifully produced, gorgeously orchestrated and perfectly polished, their new endeavor, Geographic Tongue, is a five song study in the band’s unflagging confidence, a paring down of the superfluous and a deliberate sandpapering of shiny edges – and it pays off.

Recorded in just six days, the EP’s five vignettes are rough hewn in all the right ways and brought to life with solid songwriting and warm vocals.

Geographic Tongue opens with ‘Section C,’ a delightfully folk poppy tune, tinged with big bright banging piano and drum marchiness that rivals Mick Avery’s best work on The Kinks’ Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire). Add to this a touch of cranky cello and guitar, and you have a song that swells into a lustrously lazy bridge before going out with a bang. It’s a big song to open an EP with, but the subsequent body of work stands up strong – delicately hopping between Americana, rock and indie folk - closing with ‘I’ll Make a Scene,’ an OK Computer-esque epic that could’ve easily gone wrong if it weren’t for the band’s ability to harness the power of subtle urgency. The full bore, contrived, arena rock build-up that painfully plagues the end of so many albums these days is absent. In its stead we are left with solid climactic craftsmanship which gives both the song and album powerful closure.

For me, Geographic Tongue is as lovely as it is provocative and acts as a reminder of the thing I admire most about the band, both recorded and live: The Lennings, vocally and musically, continue to brilliantly manipulate an impossible thread of continuity that links folk to rock to Americana to indie pop. And it makes my ears ‘asplode with joy.

I know this review reads like a love letter, and I’m not at all ashamed of that. So there. - www.BestofTexas.com

"I'll Make a Scene" is the musical equivalent of driving during a lovely sunset with the windows fogged over, complete with a breakdown in the middle equivalent to going through a tunnel. The extra details in their arrangements and tiny bits of electronic wash in the background make all the difference. "You're the One That I Want," with its rote chord progression and obvious lyrics, is proof by negative example of how important the little extra touches are to the "post-folk" genre. The absolutely lovely "Floyd," on the other hand, has a funneled intro and a never-quite-fully-developed drum part that throw its relatively simple main body into sharp relief. - Big Western Flavor

“Tranquil and subtle sound hues come forth from The Lennings’ Big Beige Car. The Austin, Texas set of “brothers” have cut together a hazy summer day’s mix discussing abstract and everyday objects while incorporating a vast array of musical instruments. Yet the substance remains simple and never overbearing. Essentially, listening to this record will result in immediate obsession, and audiences should prepare to be both fascinated and aurally wooed.” - Glide Magazine