---Ada Wofford
---Released 25 October 2019 on Medical Records
If their song, “Vote for Pedro” is anything to go off of, The Retinas are as obsessed with early Pixies records as I am. I felt an immediate kinship with this band upon first hearing the single, “Problem with the World.” The Retinas are perfectly contemporary but there’s also something old school about them. The same something that makes songwriters like myself become obsessed with structure and arrangement, convinced that a hit is in the details because, whether we admit it to ourselves or not, we’re all trying to write a hit.
I haven’t come across a record like this in a while. There’s so much intentional space in the recording, so much room that allows the instruments to breathe and exist fully within the track without ever becoming obnoxious or overbearing. This is a band that understands songwriting. No one oversteps their position, everyone is acting on behalf of the song and executing their role masterfully.
The singer’s voice was built for indie pop. In my notes I compared him to almost everyone: Elvis Depressedly, Violent Femmes, Weed Diamond, Dr. Dog, and MGMT—But comparisons are useless sometimes. The point is, this band has a sound and texture that’s all their own—A sound and texture that their lead singer wonderfully solidifies.
The band has their own studio in Philadelphia where they recorded and mixed the album. They originally recorded this album back in the summer of 2018 but after embarking on a tour that September, the songs began to take on a new shape. The album that you’ll hear was recorded in the winter of 2019.
Songs, like anything else, need time to grow. And this extra time, this maturity of sound, comes through wonderfully on the record. The songs are layered and precise but still perfectly accessible to anyone and everyone, and that’s what makes a great song—You can listen to it ten times and pick out something new each listen or simply hear it once and tap your foot along to the rhythm.
The record was recorded primarily live, with a few overdubs. This liveness can be heard in the loose and unfettered atmosphere the songs project. When I asked The Retinas what gear they used on the record, they had this to say:
"The guitars were all done on a Fender Jazz Master Classic Player, running through a pedal board that varied from analog chorus, reverb, delay, Swollen Pickle distortion, and an Ibanez Tube Screamer. The guitar amp was a small Fender Blues Jr. For the bass, we used a Fender Jazz Bass, through a Mark Bass head. Drums were a Pearl Export Series kit. Mic-wise we use Neumann TLM 103, AKG C214, SM57s , SM7s. We also used a Roland SP404 sampler and a couple of random synths and keyboards to get some of the sounds; mostly old, crappy Yamaha keyboards."
If you’re wondering what an old, crappy Yamaha keyboard is exactly, just think of the ones you find at Goodwill (I own 4 of them). The Retina’s use of old keyboards is most obvious on the track “Fix That Up,” which interestingly opens with a very mid-aughts sounding keyboard (crappy keyboards were popular in indie rock then) but then suddenly becomes digitally processed and brought back into 2019, shifting the tone and mood of the track in a way that’s both clever and satisfying.
Two major highlights of the album are the anthemic “Afterthought” and “Family Ties,” opening and closing the album respectfully. The album appears to exist in two parts: The first six songs are all over three minutes long and are a bit more folk-rock inspired, a bit more layered and reserved. The next four songs are all under three minutes and tend to contradict the thoughtful layers and patient arrangements of the first-half. Though this shift is somewhat striking, it is not unwelcome. It’s rare to see a band with two sides, let alone a band that can pull them both off. Album closer, “Family Ties” returns to the aesthetic of the first-half and serves as an apt finale to an overall impressive album.
Buy the album here, stream it on Spotify, and check out the single, “Problem with the World” via YouTube below.
Catch them live on the following dates:
November 7—The V Club. Huntington, WV
November 8—Gooski’s. Pittsburgh, PA
November 15—Bourbon & Branch. Philadelphia, PA
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