After releasing an excellent self-titled album in 2014, the duo of
James Hoare
(of
Veronica Falls
) and
Jack Cooper
Mazes
) could have gone their separate ways, thus depriving fans of smart, sneakily good guitar pop a follow-up. Fortunately, their low-key collaboration continues with 2015's
Green Lanes
, and it's the equal of their debut, maybe even just a touch better. Working again in
Hoare
's home studio with the two men trading off songwriting, singing, and lead guitar duties in democratic fashion, the album is similarly laid-back and shaggy, with tricky guitar lines snaking around the breathy vocals and drummer
Neil Robinson
(also of
) steadily steering the songs with calm precision.
's production is simple and unfussy, letting the instruments and vocals breathe while adding just enough reverb to keep it from sounding dry. A great sound with no songs is kind of a let down, so it's good that both guys seemed to have upped their game just a little. Each of them turns in at least a couple classic indie pop moments.
's lovely "Sweet Chris" sounds like it was half-inched from
Gerry Love
of
Teenage Fanclub
's songbook, his "Break the Chain" too is the best kind of unassuming melodic pop.
Cooper
's songs have a little more bite in general: his uptempo tracks like "(I've Got The) Sanctioned Blues" and "Woken by Noises" boost the energy level of the album, and the opening "Kodiak" kicks the record off in super-hooky
Yo La Tengo
-y style. The two work so well together, meshing styles so easily and breezily, that the resulting album feels like they've been working together for many years, not just a short time. Listening to the beautiful, restful, and balanced sounds of
, one hopes that they do indeed continue to work together for years and years. ~ Tim Sendra