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The Pathways:
Boat of Confidence
Anyone worried by this somewhat cute album title might be thrown by the intro to the first track, "Kid Gloves On The Packet-Boat." The sound of orchestral tune-up, with attendant band member giggles and hoots, was officially dropped from the acceptable list awhile back. But within fifteen seconds, one is back in comfortable and delightful territory. Combining the reedy vocals of old Pavement and the soft indie-mack of current back-to-basics bucolic coffee-shop garage-feel bands like The Mountain Goats, this band delivers on a promise they don't seem to remember making with entirely enjoyable results. Many bands in this subset tend to forget that songs should have endings, and it's nice to see a group keep the ball in play the way these guys can. The opening track snaps shut like a hinged box, leaving you wanting more. "Just Like a River" has structure as tight and exciting as anything in recent memory, with its Midwestern yearning evocative and touching, while holding onto its intellectual edge. "Stunning Capture" does nothing to improve on the formula, but is starry-eyed and delicious on its own merits, while "L'Enfant Plaza" enters with a mature confidence that speaks quite highly of the talent on display here. This is music for immediately after the road trip, laid-back and rollicking all at once. "Party's Over" is commercial indie, wise and solid, and a standout on the disc, as is "Miserable In Coat + Tie," which plays around with Scottish Invasion time signatures and sassy vocals but remains completely in character with the identifiable Pathways sound betraying its joking experimentation. "7 Types Of Ambiguity" is a bit more of a departure, dropped between the more complex structure of the preceding several songs and the songs that follow. It takes a bit of adjustment on the part of the listener, but taken on its own merits, it's enjoyable enough. "No Cops" is perhaps a bit too earnest for its own good and is out of place among the more confident tracks here but signals a willingness to learn and explore that makes one excited for the band's future. The last third of the album begins with the ebullient and somewhat weird "Inner-Altar," which seems to be attempting to forever bridge the gap between They Might Be Giants and Pavement, but is good-hearted fun and a nice party track. "The Carolers" goes for the droning, early-morning softness in which the Pathways excel, and shows them at the top of their game, faded and yearning, with occasional spots of interrupting discordance that only serves to underscore the overall tone. "The Race to Invent the Airplane" meets ambition head-on, with a somewhat larger structure and driving dreamlike feel that covers all the bases – it's great. "You've Got to Look inside Yourself" is a Mike Doughty-clever open mic track, the kind of song that one might hate, only to suddenly obsess over six months later, and serves to remind the listener what a great live band the Pathways are. The chorus in particular is brilliant and expansive. It’s moving, in fact, and is a perfect lead-in to the closer, "Productivity," a really surprising and heartfelt farewell that musters more energy than many of the tracks here, but doesn't stand out as anything other than a professional and affecting song among an album full of them. The album is recommended highly, and it is suggested that you commit this band's name to memory, as they have the talent, the heart, and the work ethic to be very successful sometime quite soon. Great work.
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