Album Review: Ducktails - The Flower Lane

Matthew Mondanile has come a long way in a short time with Ducktails. Having started the venture during his last year in college in 2006, the 'band' was pretty much just Mondanile noodling away onto an old tape recorder for some mates as part of the Massachusetts cassette-trading scene back then. But even while the guitarist's profile grew as his other band Real Estate gained attention, Mondanile never quite gave up on the Ducktails concept, using it to record last year's well-received Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics, a release that proved something of a stepping stone to the full-blown band effort he produces here. Combining psychedelic rock with disco beats and sometimes even electronica, Mondanile uses his guest musicians to perfection and actually seems to have been forced to step up as a songwriter simply by their presence on the album.

Opener Ivy Covered House, however, almost seems to be disarming the listener and making the creativity to come more of a surprise. Trundling along at a gentle pace, this track is still a cool, little acoustic rocker that introduces things nicely before the band really let their imaginations go wild on six-minute album highlight, Under Cover. Over a slinky groove, Mondanile invites a girl back to his place where they discover some awesomely cheesy sax solos once they get under the doona. There's more funk to come on Assistant Director while guest keys player Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never) is let loose on the electronic Letter Of Intent. Mondanile's skill as a guitarist also shines through as he turns up the amps for Timothy Shy's ripping solo and coolly gives Sedan Magic a lounge-act feel, showing off his chops on one seriously impressive little album.