Julius Airwave: The City, The Forest

During the spoken-word intro of “Every Little Bit Helps,” the last song off Julius Airwave’s new album The City, The Forest, there is a moment when songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Rick Colado says, “objects in motion tend to stay in motion” while “objects at rest tend to stay at rest.” Eclectic, experimental, and charmingly unpredictable, this unique follow-up to the band’s 2004 debut Dragons Are the New Pink definitely falls under the first principle.

With guitarists Jeff Mehlhoff and Jeremiah Johnson, bassist Chris Gibson, and drummer Mark Hubbard rounding out Colado’s ensemble, Julius Airwave delivers each track of this new album as if they were navigational turns purposefully veering onto some new course.

Relying on the ride for its enjoyment, the band’s complex, pop catchiness is in a constant state of motion. From the standout track “Glory Glory” with its off-and-running hi-hat foot race to the quirky bounce of “Broken Bells,” a song for which controlled carelessness and use of a toy xylophone would have made a nice inclusion somewhere between Abbey Road’s “Mean Mr. Mustard” and “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window,” Julius Airwave establish a solid work of variety without sinking into an identity crisis.

The City, The Forest even finds room on its docket for tempo-changing classical piano (“Nannerl”), underlying synthesizers (“Shipwreck”), and a spacious choir interjecting over a simple lo-fi recording (“In the City”).

Though some may find this kind of musical ADD a bit off-putting, listeners should know what they’re getting into before even pressing play. Inscribed on the CD itself is a kind of self-scolding remark made by the band, one that perhaps drove them to make the record they did: “You’ve been much too careful lately.”

– Mike Hilleary
Julius Airwave (Sick Room Records)