It's a bit surprising to realize that after almost decades of work this is
Brad Laner's first solo album as such, but the veteran of such acts as
Medicine and
Savage Republic has worked alone before -- this is just the first time he's done so fully under his own name. Taken from a batch of songs recorded at home over the course of three years, Neighbor Singing presumably lives up to its name, though his neighbors couldn't have had cause to complain; this is
Laner at his most winningly pop, playing around with fuzz and orchestrations and whatever else he sets his mind to. After his extended explorations in more extreme instrumental sounds via the
Electric Company, Neighbor Singing has more of the feeling of his work on the first Amnesia album, though even more winningly so, his long-based love for
the Beatles and
the Beach Boys coming through clearly but avoiding the retro pitfalls of so many others who have similar fascinations. In place of too clean re-creations or overwrought confections are easygoing melodies, gently treated vocals, and a lot of understated instrumental curiosity. "Lovely World" is an example of the album at its most extreme; from the sweetly straightforward enough vocal overdubs to the demi-glitch stop-start beats and guitar overdubs, from the skeletal to the intentionally overmic'ed (or so it seems). Meantime, "Alambres," with its more immediately warm guitar parts, still feels like an electronic construction, reassembling both music and singing in a collage that works against a sense of "natural" songwriting in the best way. There are a few family and relatives cameos as well but the best might be from his young son Julian who, among other things, contributes "random baby vocals" on the extremely spare and charming "Falling Time." ~ Ned Raggett