Texas Platters

Moonlight Towers

Simply put, there's not a hair out of place on this album. No elongated creative indulgences, deliberate obtuseness, or cheap gimmicks – just nine rock-solid barroom pop salvation songs that bypass the moment in favor of something that will never go completely out of style. Alcohol-fueled power pop is at the center of it all, but Moonlight Towers is way too scuffed-up for skinny ties. The James Stevens-led local quartet's third LP is loosely informed by the tension between wanting to make it past closing time and a looming sense of mortality. That trope is particularly pungent on the driving rocker "Not a Kid Anymore." Borrowing its title from Neil Young, "Comes a Time" arrives soaked in the bittersweet recognition that every safe harbor is ephemeral. If the violin swell that ends the chorus doesn't put a lump in your throat, you haven't lived enough. After years of sure-handed live performances, this is a permanent exclamation point.

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