Secrets of the Sea, the second release from San Francisco band Loquat is fraught with a subtle sense of anxiety that belies what, on the surface, might seem like a breezy, summery vibe. Lead singer Kylee Swenson's voice warbles somewhere in between Imogen Heap and Leslie Feist with a smattering of Eastern-influenced delivery and sails over a lush bed of solid indie rock instrumentation and electro-influenced synth lines (and if that was a mouthful, give it a listen, you'll see what I mean). Swenson doesn't seem to quite have the subtleties of the aforementioned chanteuses, but what she lacks in delivery she makes up for in obvious sincerity. There are real moments of rocking, rapturous guitar chugging ("Big Key, Little Door" and "In My Sleep"), but for the most part, Secrets of the Sea stays in a comfortable middle ground, though never straying into the all-too-seductive realm of "lilting" (dragging) "ballads" (dirges). While the lyrical content generally falls under the umbrella of reflective, somewhat ambiguous text, there are a few moments when Swenson does wander into the trite ("It isn't him, this is you, I'm rubber and you are glue"). As indicated before, most of the instrumentation is decidedly "indie rock," but drummer Christopher Lautz brings disco-influenced beats to some of the tracks, which gives an extra layer of unease (who's not a little disconcerted by something that recalls polyester suits?). The only production misstep that drove this listener up a wall was the left-right guitar phasing on "These Kinds of Friends," which wobbles unceasingly to the point of possibly inducing seizure. That aside, Loquat has put forth another great collection of thoughtful, well-crafted pop songs on this release, though whether or not one can glean any marine Secrets is open for discussion.
--Mark Sanderlin [October 13, 2008]
