Sometimes I feel like I may not be the target audience for some of the music I listen to. I read that super-depressing article a while back that said the listening preferences of most people become locked in amber by around the age of 32. There was a short period like that for me, say, from age 32 to age 34. It didn't last, though. I eventually started digging for new sounds again. And, as I get on in years, that means that I come across more and more music made by people young enough to be my kids.
The thing is, though, I think one of the reasons that people's musical tastes freeze is that -- no matter how old you get -- you remain basically the same person after a point. As you get more skilled at navigating the world, you learn to bottle up or hide certain feelings that still percolate in your forever-20-something brain. You may even lose the ability to relate to those feelings when they're expressed by people living them right now, but a good song -- one that gets you repeating a phrase over and over as you sing along, for example -- can remind you of some of that stuff. For just a few moments, you can be in touch with your forever-20-something self.
I got a little bit of that when I stumbled across ROMP's first single, "Portrait," in late 2014. The song contained just enough of a callback to some of the power-pop alt-rock that I was listening to in my 20s that it hooked me and dragged me into the post-breakup world of lead singer Madison Klarer and the rest of ROMP. Departure from Venus, ROMP's first full-length, continues and expands on what the band did with "Portrait" and the rest of the band's 2014/15 Sorry, Not Sorry EP.
"Backfire" opens with Klarer's unique mix of deadpanning and belting over the aggressive guitar work of Lucas Dalakian. Keys and some quirky guitar flourishes add some sweetness as Klarer sings of the comfort to be found in familiarity. The title track gives us the flipside of familiarity as a relationship becomes stifling and mundane. Again, Dalakian and bassist Chris Beninato keep things on the edge of bursting; while the twinkle of Klarer's keyboard adds a hint of twee.
There's no real hint of sweetness in "Get Off the Scale," as Klarer screams "I hate you!" over pummeling guitars and wailing keys. Three songs in and we've gotten the entire roller coaster of emotions that come with navigating relationships in young adulthood -- all-consuming euphoria, comforting routine, waning interest, boredom, jealousy, anger. Been there.
It's back to power-pop with single "Last Year" and "Come Undone." The latter is literally and figuratively the album's centerpiece, combining quiet moments that build to epic crescendos with Klarer's insecurities. "Please notice me!" she screams while lying on the bathroom floor.
"Naner Manor" goes out on a group vocal that sounds like it could be happening in that New Brunswick basement. Klarer's declaration that "This is gonna be a great fucking day!" gets more and more emphatic as "Avoiding Boys" goes on, and it sounds like she believes it. She channels Liz Phair early on "Go Back to Bed" before things ratchet up again as she screams, "I miss you!!" over the din. "Yapshutter" stands as a kind of bow wrapping things up. "If you only had some guts, if you somehow stood up, we could have had our own happy end!"
Departure from Venus pokes and prods at a lot of those things I felt before CoolMom and I figured out how to make our way in the world together. A lot of that comes down to the straightforwardness of Klarer's songwriting, the endearing sincerity and occasional imperfection in her voice, Dalakian's wild guitar explorations, and the overall sequencing of the album. For me, it's kind of like waking up from that dream where I haven't gone to some class all semester. It feels pretty real while it's happening; but, when I wake up, I realize that I haven't had to worry about that for a while now. Always a relief.
Departure from Venus is out now on Bad Timing Records.
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