Album Review: How I Became Illustrated – The Word Play
On their debut release How I Became Illustrated, The Word Play go about everything the right way, drawing from all of the right college rock from the past couple of decades, and giving the feeling of a sort of a controlled rowdiness to their songs. Case in point, on “Cues From A Stranger God”, they sound like a not-quite-sober, maybe-kinda-buzzed Modest Mouse. They’re kind of like the kid going to college on scholarship: not afraid to party, but possibly more interested in studying and not screwing things up to party too hard.
On How I Became Illustrated, “studious” seems to win out over “party mode” in the end. The songs– accessible, bouncy indie-rock that they are– contain subtle details that warrant repeat listens on headphones, like the multi-instrument flourishes on “National Opera” or the breakdown in “Dinner Is In Disguise”.
From the goofy banter at the beginning of single “Three”, to the vague sloppiness to the songs, one gets the impression that The Word Play aren’t doing this for anyone but themselves. To quote their one-sheet, until now “there have been a few small-scale releases, a self- produced EP, a 3-song mini CD, but no line-up changes, no major style shifts, no gimmicks, no tragedies. No bullshit, really.” Well, shucks. In a local scene that seems to thrive on drama, how can these guys ever expect to get attention? The Word Play might not distinguish themselves from the multitude of other bands doing what they do, but they sound like they’re having fun, which might just be infectious enough.
Featured Track:
“Three”
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