The Best Thing I Heard This Week-David Wax Museum

OK, so first things first, there’s a lot of Avetts (not literally) on this album, and I feel like that can color things for a person these days. For me, if someone tells me that a record sounds like the Avett Brothers, I’m running the other way (with half-hearted apologies to Mumford & Sons). Honestly, I don’t want to hear things that sound like the Avetts, I want to hear the Avett Brothers or something completely different. That said, David Wax Museum’s Everything is Saved is a fantastic album, and I’m glad no one made an Avetts comparison before I heard it. But the influences are all over this record.



The most impressive and enjoyable thing about Everything is Saved is the pacing, and I’m not sure I’ve ever said that before. The band flows effortlessly from joyous singalongs like “Born With A Broken Heart” to ballads like “Look What You’ve Done to Me” to mid-tempo Mexican folk replete with horns and accordion like “Yes, Maria, Yes.” If you’re going to sing an album full of love songs, you need to have some variety, and this record has plenty of that in its pacing. Otherwise, you’re going to be exhausted from too many fast songs or bored with all of the ballads. Albums this year that everyone loves but I can’t get into because of the pacing: Adele’s 21, Washed Out’s Within and Without, and I’m struggling with The War on Drugs’ Slave Ambient for the same reason.



Of course, the pacing and whatever other bullshit I’ve talked about is all moot if the record doesn’t sound good, and this one sounds great. The instrumentation is crisp and clear and almost makes me like the accordion. Almost. If you’re into lyrics, these are good ones--clever when they need to be [1. Well I met you / at the door / haven’t I seen you before / I wanted to say / but my lips / they were sealed / two spokes / in the same wheel / at least that’s how I feel / when you’re on top / and I go underneath.] and emotional when the song calls for it (try “Night Was a Car” or “The Least I Can Do”). The friend who recommended me the record says it’s his favorite album so far this year, and while I’m not willing to go that far, it’s certainly the best thing I heard this week.

Photo by wfuv