Houndmouth
Little Neon Limelight
Reviewed by: Max Miller
You’ll have to forgive me for coming into this a little cynical, but I expected Little Neon Limelight, the sophomore album from New Albany, Indiana’s Houndmouth, to mostly be a lot of fluff thrown together to support “Sedona”, the infectious lead single I’ve heard approximately thirty billion times on WXPN over the past couple months. Although the song is not without its charms, — that joyous cry of “SO BRIGHT AND PINK” in the last chorus, for example — it has that faceless anthemic quality to it, with the nostalgic vibes and wanderlust invocations, which kind of screams Converse commercial.
Fortunately, Limelight has more to offer than just one huge single. Houndmouth dabble in a form of throwback Americana-rock that skirts the line between the Band’s good-times jams and the Black Crowes’ full-tilt boogie which condenses various ‘70s subgenres (country, southern rock, Aerosmith-esque blooz rawk) into a mélange that sounds retro while not quite invoking any one band. On the former end of the spectrum are songs like “Otis” and “Gasoline”, with their Fleetwood Mac vocal harmonies, and on the latter end are “15 Years” and “My Cousin Greg”, which could easily rile up the crowd at a biker bar. Other stand outs include the shades-of-Dylan ballad “For No One” and the Stones-like country rocker “Honey Slider”.
Houndmouth have mastered the craft of creating feel-good rock ‘n’ roll which should please young crate-diggers and grizzled old-guard fans alike. But when your music causes your listeners to name-check this many legends, you’ve won a hollow victory at best. Then again, you get the feeling those kinds of comparisons are just what Houndmouth might want.
Rating: Listenable
