Daryl Johns＜Blue Vinyl＞

Daryl Johns got his start playing jazz bass before sliding into a sideman role with soft rock revivalists like Drugdealer and Mac DeMarco. His self-titled debut album was released by DeMarcos label, and the two artists share a kind of good-natured wooziness that gives their pop songs a warped sweetness. At times sounding like Ariel Pink if hed never heard of Kennth Anger, Johns gives his simple melodies some odd twists -- messing with the pitch at random on "Corner Store," running his voice through filters on most songs, and coming across like a 70s heartthrob on the wonderful "Im So Serious." About half of the record follows a similar template of cheesy, creepy 70s pop pastiches, played with nimble skill and hooky as can be. The other half of the album is another ball of wax entirely. On it, Johns leans hard into his background in smooth jazz, pairing his fretless bass with skittering drums and twiddly guitar lines on a series of songs that feel like hold music. Its well played and accomplished, but somewhat less than interesting all the same. Which is too bad because the pop-leaning half of the album is so good. Maybe in the future hell give each of his two very different musical personalities their own space instead of trying to jam them together like this. ~ Tim Sendra