The Directory
Shutdown & The Centre For Useless Splendour (double album)
Subjangle
Less than eighteen months after their superlative debut, The Centre For Useless Splendour, jangled its way into our hearts in April 2023, Albuquerque, New Mexico's The Directory, is back with the retro sweetness of their follow-up Shutdown EP, which is something of the ultimate grower in the way it feels like you eventually 'absorb' it after repeated listens.
The foursome's music on this release is still jangle heavy, but it may be more psyche-inclined in comparison to their initial full length, as they explore a variety of musical perfections from the past.
As such, the initial opening double salvo of the title track and Two-Way Antennae augment Left Banke style jangly psyche-rock with the spatial vocal production of Madchester's World of Twist, whereas the juxtaposition of the sounds of pre-Britpop acts such as Sally Cinnamon era The Stone Roses and Cast perfectly illuminate the psyche nuances in So It Goes, Old Nectarine, and Civil War.
However, the very best of this album resides in a sound that is the least extravagant but still the most recognizable. Here, Mulberry Harbour and Beehive Cluster offer the languid, uncluttered pysche-pop stylings of The Beatles in tracks reminiscent of the purest of their pop melodies.
The Directory is a new act for me, but one that should have many more devoted fans, especially considering that everything they have released so far is pure-pop gold !!!