We're Headed To The Lake

Guitar took shape when Portland, Oregon-based musician Saia Kuli pivoted from making Madlib inspired beats into creating warped bedroom pop built on a foundation of his homespun loops and programmed rhythms. Listening to Guitars second full-length, Were Headed to the Lake armed with this information, the chaotic flow and quick-shifting aesthetic of the album start to make more sense. Kulis scruffy slacker pop tunes land somewhere between the Swirlies water-damaged shoegaze and the most guitar-heavy moments of 90s indie pop heroes like Guided by Voices or Built to Spill, but delivered with the collaged arrangement of an album like J Dillas Donuts. A two-and-a-half minute tune like album-opener "A+ for the Rotting Team" cycles through Pollard-esque melodies and layers of deranged guitar noise before changing gears quickly for the gentle twee pop of "Chance to Win." Songs like "The Game Has Changed" and "Pizza for Everyone" have the same goofy, unserious charm of Brighten the Corners-era Pavement and early Weezer, but move swiftly from wobbly verses to sections of overpowering feedback. As the album goes on, tracks like "A Toast to Tovarisch" go in completely opposite directions, exploring Sonic Youth-y dissonance and speedy, angular guitar sounds in line with Polvo. Its these fast and frequent transitions which make Were Headed to the Lake such a thrilling listen. The 12 songs here zoom by in just over half-an-hour, but theres so much happening in every song that each one can feel like a micro-album of its own. Guitar doesnt exactly reinvent the indie rock wheel with Were Headed to the Lake, but Kuli and his collaborators masterfully arrange a spectrum of familiar influences into new, engaging shapes. ~ Fred Thomas