The Ladybug Transistor Clutching Stems

The Ladybug Transistor haven’t always crafted the perfect picture of coherency with their sometimes shambolic albums, but they’ve always had a remarkable knack for knocking out enjoyable indie pop. Clutching Stems doesn’t hit the highs some of the band’s albums have, but it features some added-in coherency that quite helps the album along.

This aside, Clutching Stems does sometimes border on the boring, the mundane. Everything’s competently played, but nothing particularly stands out for reasons good or bad. It’s an album that’s most remarkable aspect is that it’s just, well, safe. There’s not a lot of adventure here; tried and true formulas dominate throughout — and while there’s something to be said certainly for not taking too many risks, it doesn’t exactly make for evocative pop music.

For avid fans of these legendary Elephant Six veterans or fans of effective if not exciting indie pop, Clutching Stems is a nice addition to a collection. It’s one that could be popped in on occasion without much controversy, a nice easy listen that wouldn’t craft a rebellion of any sort. There’s a time and a place for albums of this sort, but it probably won’t win many plaudits, and it probably won’t win any fans.

But everyone has those bands they love, and their output will be exciting whether it’s genuinely exciting or not. Clutching Stems, I do believe, will excite those fans — and you know, there’s not too much wrong with that. It is, after all, not a bad album in any respect, and there are some nice melodies and harmonies about — and if a fan can have a bit of that for a nice listen, there’s not much to complain about.