The Autumns have been around since the early '90s, but due to label failures and the other frustrations of indie life, their release schedule has been so sporadic that every album feels like a surprise comeback. This is particularly the case with their fourth full-length,
Fake Noise from a Box of Toys, which is a fairly radical change from their earlier work. Previous albums like
In the Russet Gold of This Vain Hour were full of shimmering, slowly unfolding dream pop soundscapes directly influenced by the likes of
My Bloody Valentine and
the Cocteau Twins, whose Simon Raymonde signed the Los Angeles band to his Bella Union label some time back. There are intermittent flashes of that sound on
Fake Noise from a Box of Toys (notably on "The Midnight Knock" and "The Beautiful Boot"), but this is a far more immediate album overall. Points of comparison this time aren't the wall-of-effects-pedals wash that
Robin Guthrie or Kevin Shields specialized in, but the self-consciously epic likes of
Simple Minds,
U2,
Radiohead, or even
Coldplay: singer Matthew Kelly tends to favor the highest end of his range à la Chris Martin or
Thom Yorke. Anthemic singalong choruses, catchy guitar riffs, and layered harmonies -- things the Autumns never had much truck with on their earlier albums -- are the focus of songs like "Boys," "Glass Jaw," and "Clem," any of which could conceivably be mainstream alt-rock radio hits. That may sound like the Autumns have abandoned themselves to the wider pop marketplace, but what's most impressive about
Fake Noise from a Box of Toys is that the group maintains enough of their own musical personality on songs like the swirling closer "Oh My Heart" and the dramatic high point "Killer in Drag" that the more accessible songs sound like evolution, not sellout. ~ Stewart Mason