All Day Gentle Hold!

delivered his fourth album, , in mid-March of 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic was shutting down concert venues (and much more) in the States. He had already begun work on another set of songs but didn't put the finishing touches on what would become his fifth long-player until April 2021. In the interim, he responded to prolonged sheltering by taking a more spontaneous, energized approach to recording, with often chaotic results. Re-embracing the pop-punk and grunge influences of ' earliest releases, he recorded at home with a keyboard, two guitars, live drums, and a drum machine, in the process essentially fusing the cold, brooding electronic sound he'd become known for with its often-veiled alt-rock inspirations. The album's invigorated spirit is established in the opening moments, after takes a deep breath and begins the spoke-sung line "My vibe has been pretty f*cking crazy...lately." The repeated words "crazy" and "lately" are emphatically underlined by a pounding unison of four-limb drumming, plucked bass, fat keys, and backing vocals. The song settles into a steady midtempo dance-rock groove and more repeated rhymes ("lazy lately," "Who's the baby, baby?") before eventually breaking out a short guitar solo. Guitars have a more constant, rambling presence on the hooky "Okay"; serve angular, needling purposes on the off-balance "Swarovski"; and fuzz things up on the record's grungy, horny closer, "Comedown Song (Gunk)." Along the way, shimmery keys and electronic drums add inescapable tension and atmosphere to the singer's own melancholy vocal drone, with songs like "Swimming Big" and "Grab the Phone" adding unpredictable guest vocal interjections. A melodic pop-punk highlight, the latter song's syncopated guitar riffs and dance-urging bassline are representative of an album that is danceable in its entirety and reportedly designed with live performance in mind. A 25-minute blast of brief, confused, oversaturated synth rock tunes, is over before you know it but won't soon fade from memory. ~ Marcy Donelson