Yard＜Clear Vinyl＞

With the release of their debut album, Moveys, in 2020, Chicago-based indie outfit Slow Pulp settled into a fluctuating mix of catchy grunge pop, moodier shoegaze, and more intimate, ambling fare led by the most recent addition to their lineup, singer/guitarist Emily Massey. A further tweak to their sound arrived in the form of a pair of louder, more aggressive singles from 2021 that ranged from distortion-fueled alt-rock to more streamlined, off-kilter pop. Following in the vein of both the shifting debut and more assertive singles, the still heterogenous follow-up, Yard, also signifies a move from Winspear to the Anti- label. The half-hour set opens with the grunge-lite, midtempo "Gone 2," which mixes acoustic and modest electric guitar textures in an apprehensive tribute to not knowing where one stands. To that end, its lyrics include lines like "Is it not what you came for?/I never know what I want." With the albums anxiety established, it plugs in the pedals and amps, if tentatively, for the bouncier, bittersweet "Doubt" before moving to full-on rawk with the churning, driving "Cramps," which both wants to be like and warns its audience about a distraction named Heather. Across songs like the surprising piano entry "Yard," punchy indie rocker "MUD," and the drawling, pedal steel-inflected "Broadview" -- which also features a harmonic solo -- the albums anxiety and melancholic mindset never abate, right up to and including resigned closer "Fishes," an explicitly metaphorical reference to mounted trophies. It makes for a satisfying, if unsatisfied, follow-up that both follows the appealing formula of their debut while letting loose on the full-band tracks. ~ Marcy Donelson