I'm gonna keep telling this Underlined Passages story every time I mention them. In 2016, I got asked to introduce the Baltimore band at the inaugural North Jersey Indie Rock Festival in Jersey City. In the name of being thorough, I checked out Underlined Passages' latest release at the time, The Fantastic Quest; and I ended up discovering a great new (to me) band.
Underlined Passages released their third full-length, Tandi My Dicafi, last month; and the album is a collection of shimmering dream pop that really doesn't have a weak spot. Opener "Feelings" is propulsive. Drummer Jamaal Turner drives everything forward as singer / guitarist Michael Nestor maintains the band's dream pop aesthetic. That theme continues on single "Silverlake," the urgency of the percussion contrasting with the swirling guitars and vocals. The synth-heavy "Your Bedroom" is slow and contemplative; and, with lines like "So much time slipping through our hands / All we have is this moment," it focuses on the importance of fleeting interactions between people.
Tandi My Dicafi changes gears for a bit with the Tears For Fears-esque epic pop of "Thinking, On a Sunday" and the pop rock of "Ruthenia." Closer "The Days Were Golden My Friends" features bouncing acoustic guitars as it looks longingly at the past: "So hard to remember you / Remember the ways that we knew we were one..." "I need you forever."
Underlined Passages worked with producer Frank Marchand (Bob Mould, The Thermals) on Tandi My DiCafi; and, this time, the collaboration results in songs that are heavier than what the band has done in the past with a real emphasis placed on Turner's drumming. But this isn't a heavy rock record by any stretch. Underlined Passages maintain that far-off, dreamy vibe that has characterized the band to this point.
This might be a strange thing to mention, but one of the real triumphs of Tandi My Dicafi to me is that Underlined Passages deliver thoughtful, swirling, lose-yourself type songs that never overstay their welcome. The band pretty much stick to the 3- and 4-minute song length, making the tracks on Tandi My Dicafi like bites of some type of confection that tastes amazing but then dissolves and disappears. Always leave them wanting more never fails, I guess.
Tandi My Dicafi is out now on Mint 400 Records.
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