ALBUM REVIEW: “The Soft Skin” by Brown Recluse

Brown Recluse
The Soft Skin
[Slumberland]

Philadelphia’s Brown Recluse effortlessly captures the sort of free and easy power pop one might use to distract your restless mind from the unending gloom of winter’s trappings on their latest EP, The Soft Skin. According to the Slumberland Records Web site, the album was originally recorded in mid-2007. But in our cynical, MP3-swapping Internet age, Brown Recluse might have benefited from leaking the EP themselves, creating the buzz; two years is a lifetime in our instantaneous blogger fascination universe. This is where I commend Brown Recluse for making the long wait worth it.

The Soft Skin establishes a likeness for Beulah’s early indie twee-pop but with a familiar retro slant like their labelmates The Pains of Being Pure At Heart. “Rainy Saturday” twitterpates with nods of Belle & Sebastian while “Rotten Tangerines” layers on the horns and jangly guitars while lead singer Tim Meskers delicately coasts in and out of the group’s psychedelic wall of sound.

For now, The Soft Skin appears to be a roundabout career gap. Should this album end up being the last we hear from Brown Recluse, it would make for one bittersweet moment.