Gulf of Mexico

Rooms You’ve Never Seen Before (Nest)

While the title would suggest otherwise, Gulf of Mexico occupy a distinct place on their debut, all a squall with sudden distortion, slightly bored vocals, and loud-quiet-loud sensibility. If you didn’t know better, Rooms could have been recorded in 1991, which is where you’ve seen the local quartet before. There are echoes of Sebadoh (“Not So Tightly Wound”), Pavement (opener “Followed by a Surge in Approval”), and British noise-pop (“After-image [in Four Prongs]”), but there are also hints of true melody: “Gulf of Mexico” is a euphoric fever daydream, lyrics staring down four walls. Elsewhere, singer/bassist Austin Jones’ repeated claim “I pushed Robert down the stairs” lends “How the Stars Did Fall” a drugged charm. The closing title track features Sound Team’s ubiquitous Bill Baird on vocals and bass, ending on a loopy psychedelic note, but as a whole, Rooms feels comfortably lived in already.

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This article appears in April 20 • 2007.

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