Kevin Elliott and Andy Hempel have been making music together since the mid-'90s, and while their current project,
Connections, has only been recording since 2012, their fourth full-length album, 2018's
Foreign Affairs, manages to have it both ways, sounding like the work of a band with plenty of experience in making smart, spirited pop but also boasting the passion and energy of a handful of young upstarts. Suggesting a meeting between
Guided by Voices and
Superchunk,
Connections clearly have mastered the art of Midwestern lo-fi indie pop, but if their approach to record-making is simple and a wee bit gritty, their performance style is not, and this quintet embraces a pop classicism fueled by a sharp, spunky energy that delivers the hooks while keeping them suitably sharp. This band knows what to do when it stretches out a bit, as demonstrated on the four-plus-minute tracks "Downtown" and "Misunderstanding," but most of the other tunes clock in at three minutes or less, and they're concise without seeming undernourished. Vocalist Kevin Elliott blends passion and wit in the right proportions, the guitar work from Andy Hempel and
Dave Capaldi displays just enough flash to make things exciting but not so much that they seem indulgent, while bassist Phillip Kim and drummer Mike O'Shaughnessy similarly keep their work expressive but not pointlessly showy. Here
Connections make it clear they've learned vitally important lessons about what to do and what not to do, and their smarts serve the band and their listeners quite well. Sweet but potent,
Foreign Affairs is the work of a band more indie pop obsessives ought to know about, and hopefully this album will help
Connections win the larger fan base they deserve.