Even though
Shannon McArdle and
Timothy Bracy have been New Yorkers since
the Mendoza Line relocated from Georgia to Brooklyn in the late '90s, their debut album as
Slow Dazzle is the first music from them to really conjure the sounds of the city.
The View from the Floor's laid-back cool owes a sizable debt to quintessential New York bands spanning
the Velvet Underground to
Luna, but
McArdle and
Bracy are strong enough songwriters that the well-worn influences that pop up throughout the album feel more comforting than derivative. They also manage to make
Slow Dazzle distinctive from their
Mendoza Line work; though an urbane twang permeates
The View from the Floor, the album is much more atmospheric than
the Mendoza Line's recent output. The subtle electronic touches on songs like "Wedding Dance" play a big part in the album's hazy sophistication; miraculously, they don't feel like they're grafted onto the songs to make them sound more "modern," nor do they trigger any bad trip-hop flashbacks (though the drum machine on "Anthem" sounds cheesy for about a second, it soon falls into place with the rest of the song's arrangement). The songs
McArdle sings, such as the opening "Fleur de Lie," the sweetly trippy country-pop of "The Extent of My Remarks," and the title track's
She Hangs Brightly-era
Mazzy Star homage, are
The View from the Floor's most immediate songs, but
Bracy's
Dylan and
Leonard Cohen-shaded tracks like "A Welfare State" and "The Prosecution Rests" add to the album's familiar but not too nostalgic vibe. Dreamily unconcerned about sounding hip or urgent,
The View from the Floor is a pleasant, quietly accomplished debut -- something that is too often in short supply. ~ Heather Phares