Limbeck - Let Me Come Home

Limbeck
Let Me Come Home
Doghouse Records
Grade: A-

This phenomenal alt-country pop four-piece first demolished our ears at Exoduster a couple of years back with their stellar full-length Hi, Everything’s Great. In fact, we were so pumped that we went and bought the super sexy flip-book postcard version just to have a full-art copy. The boys are back with another ‘on the road’ record with Let Me Come Home.

Save for the pop dreaminess that crosses the speakers, there is a very little chance that you’d suspect that Limbeck hail from the O.C. With songs flushed with alt-country rhythms, you are likely to finger something like Oklahoma, Tennessee or Kentucky. At the same time, bands from those locales rarely have such a sunshine-loving feel to their music. The voice of Limbeck is guitarist Robb MacLean, who looks uncannly like Billy Corgan, but comes across in both person and vocals as much cooler and chill. As a frontman, and joined by his cohorts, MacLean really carries the songs. The second immediately impressionable aspect of Limbeck is the simple, yet memorable guitar work of Patrick Carrie. Carrie’s guitar twang and shakes are what defines the alt-country sound of Limbeck. Holding the rhythm front down are the well-framed drums of Matt Stephens and the heads up bass of Justin Entsminger.

After striking out on an indefinitely long tour in support of Hi, Everything’s Great, where Limbeck tried to develop a new set of road adventures and create a new set of postcards, the band headed in to the studio with Ed Ackerson and Gary Louris in Minneapolis. It certainly helped that Louris is from the Jayhawks, though this record is a bit more Beach Boy pop than what the Jayhawks ever offered. The end product is thirteen songs that clearly travel the route staked out on Hi, Everything’s Great, but exist with clearly attention to consistency across the tracks. That is, Hi, Everything’s Great has its brilliant moments, but Let Me Come Home has at least the same amount of stellar numbers but the drop offs aren’t as severe. This is something you come to expect from a tremendous band as they grow, mature and become better.

Let Me Come Home starts out with no doubt that Limbeck are hitting the alt-country twang hard on “People Don’t Change.” Though “People Don’t Change” may be slightly repetitive on the title, it gives you your initial impression (if you are agnostic) of what’s in store for the next twelve songs. Limbeck keeps the beat going on “Long Way To Go,” but it isn’t until “Everyone’s In the Parking Lot” that Limbeck begins to show their true glorious colors. “Everyone’s In the Parking Lot” begins innocently enough with MacLean taking the vocal lead and is accompanied by mandolin (?) in the mix as the chorus creeps in and helps take the song to the next level. Part of the push is due to vocal help from Rachael Cantu, Justin Pierre and Kari Gray. You really hear Cantu on this and suggests that Limbeck could substantially benefit from more female collaborators. Of course, I’m highly partial to the back-and-forth female-male thing (witness love for the Forecast, et al.). “Making the Rounds” is the first song that unquestionably brings Limbeck’s love for the Beach Boys into their music. The harmonizing with MacLean on the chorus by Louris (and likely Carrie) is just special. “Sin City” is literally an ode to how Las Vegas was once ‘peace out’ and now Limbeck (or at least MacLean) is like, well, “I like Sin City ‘cause its got you.” “Sin City” draws the closest link with Hi, Everything’s Great in both context and sound. “Usually Deluded” is a straight forward Limbeck rocker, while “Names For Dogs” is more of a drawn back, acoustic affair. “Names For Dogs” is also the only song that has a sprinkle of lyrics in the booklet. To remind you that you are not starting to fall asleep, Limbeck comes back the smokin’ “Watchin’ the Moon Rise Over Town” where organ punctuates the rhythms. If Limbeck were to have a drunken, dirty blues blitzkrieg song than “Watchin’ the Moon Rise Over Town” is it. “Home (Is Where the Van Is)” is another city ode – this time to Minneapolis – as well as acknowledging the road and that the OC is their base. “Television” rumbles in as mid-tempo rolling rock, while “To Hell With Having Fun” takes awhile to fill out but then comes through in strong fashion. Again, including friends in the vocal and handclapping mix, “To Hell With Having Fun” shares some parallels with the latest Bright Eyes (which is rad in my mind). “I Saw You Laughing” is probably the band’s most complex song where minimal sound effects slink in as MacLean leads the band through the slow moving offering – one that could easily become a choice Hollywood soundtrack song. The only significant fault that I find with Limbeck is ending Let Me Come Home on “’91 Honda.” When “’91 Honda” is flying the chorus it ain’t bad, but it may have been better to end with “I Saw You Laughing,” which would have a similar effect of ending Hi, Everything’s Great with the Tucson song.

The short and the quick of Let Me Come Home is if you enjoyed Hi, Everything’s Great then you are going to love of this latest from the boys of Limbeck. As has been established throughout this review, Limbeck are a band that lives on the road. Most bands live on the road it is true. Yet, Limbeck absolutely brings it when they play and you can’t ignore that they are having a great time and are enveloping you to do the same.