Although A Great Big Pile of Leaves have given their fans multiple releases these past few years, including both new songs and re-imaginings of older favorites, the wait for a proper follow up to 2010’s Have You Seen My Prefrontal Cortex? has felt like a lifetime. This wait has built great anticipation to see how the young band, from Brooklyn, New York, would progress their sound.
Every band’s sound evolves as the members get older but A Great Big Pile of Leaves is a band that’s music is often inspired by the evolution that comes with age. Pete Weiland’s lyrical style is simple and straightforward communicating his struggles with growing older and becoming an adult to the listener. With the release of You’re Always On My Mind, Weiland is well into his adult life and it has changed his view on the world, as well as his songwriting. That change is evident in the sound of the band’s first record with a producer, Ed Ackerson. You’re Always On My Mind feels as fun and energetic as the band’s previous releases while at the same time feeling more contained and mature. It is obvious that the group has grown to better understand their indie-pop, infused with math-rock, sound and has perfected it with the help of Ackerson.
The album starts with what singer/guitarist Pete Weiland does best; putting a melody in your head that will be there for days. The first half of You’re Always On My Mind feels like A Great Big Pile of Leaves of days past; with plenty of math-rock influenced guitar noodling and drum beats that make you want to get up and dance. While the album opener, “Snack Attack,” reminds listeners of the band’s younger days, Ackerman’s influence and professionalism is easily heard as the band expands their use of harmonies and back-up vocals. He also improves upon the variety of guitar tones heard by the band. Keeping the warm jazz influenced tones from the past and dirtying the fuzzy distortions heard on Have You Seen My Prefrontal Cortex?
“Flying Fish” sounds like it could have come straight off of Have You Seen My Prefrontal Cortex? and “Pet Mouse” is an improved version of a song released on their previous EP, Making Moves. Listening to the two versions of “Pet Mouse” back-to-back will demonstrate the positive influence of Ed Ackerson on the growth of the band’s sound. The expansion of non-octave harmonies and more back-up vocals are the icing on the cake of an already expertly written song. I still have trouble resisting the urge to roll down my car windows to sing along loudly, “finally… settling!”
“Back to School” marks the transition from the band’s older sound to the tamer “grown-up” sound heard from the band more often as they age. This song features one of the greatest math-influenced guitar riffs in the band’s history in the intro of the song. The song also contains one of the catchier choruses of the album.
The second half of You’re Always On My Mind has the slower songs of the record and as a consequence feels tamed down. Fortunately the record manages to not be dragged down by these slower tempos. “Egocentrism” and “Ambiversion” (the second redone song from Making Moves) provide a relaxing atmosphere for the listener while featuring more prominently the vocal accentuation of Weiland. One of the reasons the songs by A Great Big Pile of Leaves are so fun and catchy is because Weiland is a master of the major key. He moves up and down the scale sometimes using six or seven notes on one word. This keeps the slower portion of the record very interesting to listen to as Weiland croons with his lower registered voice embedding his melodies straight into your memory where you will find yourself hard-pressed to remove them.
Although the second half of You’re Always On My Mind feels tamed down compared to the band’s previous work they refuse to abandon their math-rock roots. “Summer Fun” is the perfect example of the band using complex guitar riffs in all sections of a song and still managing to give a grown-up rock sound. It is difficult to say whether this comes strictly from producer Ed Ackerman’s years in the industry or from the aging of the members of A Great Big Pile of Leaves but this evolution in the band’s sound has the ability to lead to more mainstream success.
Although A Great Big Pile of Leaves avoided the sophomore slump with their new release, You’re Always On My Mind, there is one issue I have with nearly every song; the drums often feel lost compared to the rest of the band. A major issue for me was the imbalance between the loud cymbals and the flatness of Tyler Soucy’s snare drum. The drum tone on the album feels overproduced and hampers the band’s classic ability to make even the stiffest listener dance.
Despite my one issue with You’re Always On My Mind the record gives a more matured sound to this exciting young band and meets all the hype built by the time we have been waiting for a new full-length album. The track list is set up in a way that demonstrates the evolution of a young band growing older and once the tenth and final song, “Pizzanomics,” comes on I cannot help but quote one of the previous songs stuck in my head because I do not want a sound this fun to ever end. Just like Pete Weiland in his song “Back to School” I’m “not ready for it to be over.”
-Mark Weber
Thursdays 3pm-6pm on “Ups & Downs”
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