Album Review: Caveman - Caveman

Following closely in the footsteps of inoffensive soft-pop and somewhat-sarcastically-coined chillwave bands that peaked in the early twenty-tens, Caveman follow up their debut album with their not-too-far-removed second self-titled album. The Brooklyn-based quintet has mastered the art of sweetly softened pop melodies, and they stick to what they know.

Caveman hasn't shed their apparent desire to sound exactly like Grizzly Bear. It could be a coincidence, but the wistfully reverberated vocal harmonies atop twinkling guitar melodies of Where's The Time and the more curiously paced I See You could almost be mistaken for a number of tracks off Grizzly Bear's Veckatimest – released in 2009; a year when sparse, gentle pop arrangements reigned supreme.

Caveman's adoration for this brand and particular period of dreamy experimental pop is scattered all throughout. The first single of the album, In The City, is made up of all the elements of the catchier catalogue of M83; atmospheric soft-synths complimented by a droning twangy guitar - a kind of '80s nostalgia that borrows it's sound from '80s pop bands like New Order and The Cure, which they've then topped off with a sheen modern finish.

With two years between albums, you'd hope for some kind of detectable growth – especially from a band whose first album was fairly derivative of all the most notable indie-pop acts of late. Sadly for Caveman, their self-titled effort showed only the faintest signs of a matured band. Catchy and palatable enough, there's nothing new brought to the plate and there's certainly nothing particularly gripping about the album.