There’s something familiar about Grand Archives’ debut release, The Grand Archives, even though it plays as a markedly distant album: the multi-instrumental compositions sound like a blindly ambitious garage band, but the polished shine of the group’s work stands as a testament to their professionalism. More energized than labelmate Iron and Wine, less morose than Songs: Ohia, and less esoteric than Sufjan Stevens, Grand Archives craft gentle folk-pop while keeping a playful yet oft-melodramatic attitude. But what else can be expected of former Band of Horses member and Grand Archives frontman Mat Brooke. Making his name on similar sentiments, The Grand Archives is exactly what you’d expect from someone with his résumé.
The album’s most affecting song and obvious standout is “Swan Matches.” The track’s immediately singable melody and the softly searing, clean-guitar rhythm make the perfect backdrop for the melodramatic essence of loss, with the chorus’ beautiful female accompaniment acting as the release of a love lost. As Brooke sings, “I remember how fast we ran,” his heartbreak becomes increasingly obvious, singing about a childishly innocent past that can no longer exist. The track’s antithesis and postscript “Index Moon” is a cathartic acceptance of his loss and attempt to move on. Brooke’s seemingly trampled croons, “Bad news travels fast... Morning of an early loss/ The words came out all wrong,” are nullified by the song’s joyous guitars and keyboards. He seems to have a grasp on what has happened and understands the futility of needless mourning (“We all get left behind sometimes”).
But even with Brooke’s uncharacteristically romantic epiphanies, The Grand Archives still occasionally tends toward predictable sentimentality. You can be sure that amid the upbeat melodies of songs like “A Setting Sun” and “Sleepdriving” there will be littered references to former loves and emotional distance. But as these are some of the few complaints that can be filed against the album, Grand Archives’ debut stands firmly as a disc of nearly unbeatable sing-a-longs and memorable folk cuts. Now if only Brooke will stick with Grand Archives — though his track record implies he might not — we’ll see what he’s truly capable of.
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