Pictures Of Then - and The Wicked Sea

Pic­tures Of Then
and The Wicked Sea
Self-​Released; 2009

Many parts of Amer­ica are known for birthing bands with a highly dis­tinc­tive regional feel and sound. Thanks to crit­ics who write about pop­u­lar music, lit­er­a­ture, and even art, peo­ple can feel that they’ve vis­ited these locales just by hear­ing the music. Take Min­nesota for instance – due in large part to promi­nent groups like The Replace­ments and The Hold Steady, this state is renowned for pro­duc­ing bands that are workman-​like in their tour­ing reg­i­mens (not to men­tion beer con­sump­tion), while craft­ing rock music that is friendly, catchy, and hook-​laden. What sets such acts apart is the pro­le­tar­ian every­man aspects of their music: there’s an earth­i­ness, a con­nect­ed­ness to the soil that the glitzier pop acts on the East and West Coasts are unable to con­vey, much less attain.

Hail­ing from Min­neapo­lis, MN, Pic­tures Of Then is decid­edly aware of the musi­cal shoul­ders upon which it stands and it does so proudly. This quartet’s new record, enti­tled and The Wicked Sea, rings out loud and proud with a host of songs filled with Mid­west­ern charm at its finest. The record evokes a sound that calls to mind Sum­mer­teeth–era Wilco, or pos­si­bly what Mod­est Mouse might have sounded like had Isaac Brock been born in Min­neapo­lis. There are occa­sional jaunty aspects of Brit-​rock that peek out to test the waters, much to my surprise.

The lead singer of Pic­tures Of Then has a clear, clean tenor that he employs to belt out lyrics with­out guile, as he man­ages to sound ide­al­is­tic and roman­tic, steer­ing clear of sen­ti­ments both sac­cha­rine and bit­ter­sweet. The gui­tars are ample, while never being given to oppres­sively over­whelm­ing the rest of the instru­ments, and the bass player’s runs rum­ble with the best of them. These are short and sim­ple three-​minute pop dit­ties that are easy on the ears – per­fect for top-​down, the-​sun-​is-​shining, day trips along some famil­iar back roads.

At times, with songs like “Stuck,” “Ahead,” and “Wicked Sea,” the band dips its toes into for­mu­laic ter­ri­tory, but it does so with a level of tal­ent and propen­sity for fun that it’s easy to for­give them for the dal­liance. Led by “When It Stings,” “Nowhere Is Some­where,” and “His­tory Of Bones,” and The Wicked Sea is equal parts heart-​lifting bal­ladry and upbeat indie-​rock, all designed to encour­age the lis­tener to eat, drink, and make merry along with the band. Pic­tures Of Then has def­i­nitely done its part to con­vince peo­ple that Min­neapo­lis might be one of the best cities in America.