Ben Millburn boasts a green thumb for atmosphere, germinating simple parts into lush musical bloom. Unfortunately, while the Louisiana native forges occasionally infectious sounds on his debut long-player, his writing borders on the downright inane. “ABCD, take what you need/ Shut up and don’t tell me that the music’s slow/ Maybe it’s just you and not the rock & roll,” he sings in the placeholder quality of opening lines to “ABCD.” Similarly, the musically satisfying “I Feel Something,” effectively employing an envelope filter guitar sound, gets ruined by Millburn’s preen-rock croaking of improvised lyrical jive that, at one point, finds him vamping on a U2 album title. The 11-track effort isn’t without charm: jangle-psych “Isayuletit” owns an enticing chorus, “Shoot It” could be a Pixies B-side, and the woozy, melodica-inflected tropicália of “Mr. Taco” demonstrates potent vibe.

*.5

This article appears in August 24 • 2018.

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