CD Reviews

The Babies | Our House on the Hill

Woodsist (2012)

By NINA MASHUROVA | November 12, 2012

2.5 Stars

This fall, Freaks and Geeks started streaming on Netflix, and, coincidentally, the Babies released their sophomore album. Both TV show and band convey how it feels to be young, awkward, and hopeful. Unlike their self-titled debut, which was full of triumphant sing-along songs, Our House on the Hill is less about taking on the world and more about finding your way in it. And going slow. And getting lost. The songs are what we've come to expect — approachable slacker jams mixed in with cursory love songs, and the occasional guitar solo that proves reverb and washed-out colors don't have the monopoly on nostalgia — but production is cleaner and energy levels are lower. There are more B-sides than anthems here, and Kevin Morby even tries out two totally stripped-down acoustic songs, including "Wandering," a Woods-y track contemplating how to "become what, become who you are," which seems to be a running theme in 2012. Our Babies are growing up.

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ARTICLES BY NINA MASHUROVA

THE BABIES | OUR HOUSE ON THE HILL | November 12, 2012
This fall, Freaks and Geeks started streaming on Netflix, and, coincidentally, the Babies released their sophomore album.

BORN GOLD | LITTLE SLEEPWALKER | November 07, 2012
Little Sleepwalker , written alone in the Arizona desert, is Born Gold's step back.

TO THE BATHAUS | October 25, 2012
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WHAT'S F'N NEXT? POLIÇA | October 02, 2012
Poliça have come a long way in the past year. When they played the Paradise last September, the Minnesota act opened for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah — and it was one of their first shows ever.