"I'd like to invite you for just a little while/To a place I used to go when I was only 17,"
Dave Hartley
sings near the beginning of his second
Nightlands
album, and that sense of nostalgia pervades the rest of
Oak Island
. Building on the epic yet intimate feel of his debut,
Forget the Mantra
,
Hartley
's project recalls other acts who wrap a fragile, wonderstruck voice in a cocoon of immense sounds, but
has a unique approach within that realm.
applies as much science to his music as he can, resulting in dreamy, literally experimental pop.
's songs prominently feature major-seventh chords -- the most nostalgic-sounding harmonic grouping -- so it's no surprise that
also has a fondness for '70s soft rock and its mellow euphoria. But by juxtaposing those breezy sounds with philosophical, even ambivalent lyrics on songs like "Born to Love,"
gives
' idylls more depth.
's poppier songs, such as the deceptively joyous "So Far So Long," the brassy "I Fell in Love with a Feeling," and the melancholy,
Pink Floyd-esque
"So It Goes," are the gateway to the album's more free-form moments. Before building into some intricately jazzy guitars, "You're My Baby"'s syrupy guitars and blissed-out vocals sound as sappy -- and as meaningful -- as gazing into a sweetheart's eyes feels, while "Rolling Down the Hill" ventures into kinetic Afro-disco territory. Despite
' scientific approach,
doesn't sound sterile or too calculated; instead,
revisits the innocence of the past with sophistication, like seeing the places you went when you were 17 with new eyes. ~ Heather Phares