Real Deal in Bloomington, MN

While retaining an overriding sound consistent with contemporary London post-punk, former
Speedy Wunderground
roster members
Honeyglaze
tilt the balance of their particular take on it from the sophisticated, jazzy indie pop of their debut toward (also previously explored) '90s and 2000s emo, math rock, and progressive rock on the moodier
Real Deal
, their
Fat Possum
debut. Although named for its title track,
was recorded live in the studio with Grammy-nominated producer
Claudius Mittendorfer
(
Ash
,
White Lies
). While the band cited a long, varied list of influences on their updated sound (
Scott Walker
the Zombies
Warpaint
, and more),
Pinback
and
American Football
were highlighted as a "mood" during recording sessions -- and moody it is. Having said that, it's singer and songwriter
Anouska Sokolow
's engaging, spoke-sung recitations that are the focus and defining component of
, which gets off to a proggy start with "Hide." The song's sinuous bass and guitar lines are interrupted by occasional blasts of rhythmic, unison rock in between lines like "I can hide behind the melody/And catharsis comes too easily." The set's relentless self-examination and increasing self-loathing and alienation continue across tracks including "Cold Caller," in which she wants to stay on the line for the company, the resigned "TMJ," named for the jaw-joint disorder, and the periodically grungy "Safety Pins," which has
Sokolow
barely holding it together through heartache and the march of time by focusing on organizing and chores. Also throughout
, her locked-in accompaniment functions almost like a rock score, prioritizing the emotional peaks and valleys of her words while delivering simple hooks and emphatic punctuation, so it seems appropriate when the album closes on a song called "Movies," an over-six-minute, episodic track in which the vocalist longs for escape from both the world and from herself. ~ Marcy Donelson