Alex Calder Cuts Some Slack With ‘Strange Dreams’

Alex Calder

Los Angeles – While Alex Calder may be the lesser-known artist to come out of the goofball rock band Makeout Videotape, he is well on his way to carving out his own prominent space in the indie rock world.  Calder’s most famous former Makeout Videotape colleague is none other than the crowned prince of slacker rock, Mac Demarco, but Calder displays the chops to belong in the spotlight right beside him on his new LP, Strange Dreams.  While the album is far from perfect, it takes all of the strongest elements of the Time EP and expounds on them.  Released January 20 on Captured Tracks, the 11 songs on Strange Dreams constitute a promising debut full-length for Alex Calder.

Likely the biggest strength of the Canadien’s songwriting is his ability to create a mood and atmosphere using simple instrumentation.  In fact, some of these are not so much songs as they are hook-driven mood-pieces, particularly tracks such as “Lola” and “The Morning.”  While these songs have some semblance of a verse and choruses, they practically serve more as segues between the more traditional songs heard elsewhere.  However, even the more straightforward tracks make use of moody atmospherics: opener “Retract” sees Calder using bending chords and a chugging background guitar to kick the album off with a sense of melancholy.

The songs on Strange Dreams typically stay in one of two tempos – slow and slower.  While there are a couple of quicker, catchier numbers Calder seems to want to stick to his songwriting comfort zone, treading the slacker rock territory between the melodicism of Pavement and the downtrodden stomp of early Sebadoh.  Unlike some of indie rock’s biggest singer-songwriters, Calder has a relative lack of vocal ability.  He is by no means a poor singer, however, from time to time on certain tracks, his low-pitched, mumbled register dampens the effectiveness of the songs and fail to make the impact they could with a more adventurous singer.

One great way to make up for this is to add effects to the vocals; Calder is quite liberal with this technique, with the echo and reverb giving Strange Dreams an even-more-detached vibe.  Another way to account for a lack of vocal dynamics is to bring in a guest vocalist; “Life Purpose” features singer Caitlin Loney.   Her strong vocals show just how catchy and engaging some of these songs could have been with a more accomplished singer.

The first single and title track, “Strange Dreams,” has an excellent chorus that is tailor made for performing on festival and late-night talk show stages, and will undoubtedly be the track that garners this album attention.  While the verses get a little bogged down with Calder’s mumbled vocals, the light and airy chorus is one of his strongest performances.

Alex Calder album

Overall, while this is certainly a strong debut for Alex Calder, it will eventually be looked at in a similar manner to his peer Mac Demarco’s Rock and Roll Nightclub – a solid debut full length album that points at much greater accomplishments on the horizon.

Keep your eyes out for Alex Calder because it appears he is on the brink of his own 2.
Matt Matasci

Matt Matasci

Perhaps it was years of listening to the eclectic and eccentric programming of KPIG-FM with his dad while growing up on the Central Coast of California, but Matt Matasci has always rebuffed mainstream music while seeking unique and under-the-radar artists.Like so many other Californian teenagers in the 90s and 00s, he first started exploring the alternative music world through Fat Wreck Chords skate-punk.This simplistic preference eventually matured into a more diverse range of tastes - from the spastic SST punk of Minutemen to the somber folk-tales of Damien Jurado, and even pulverizing hardcore from bands like Converge.He graduated from California Lutheran University with a BA in journalism.Matt enjoys spending his free time getting angry at the Carolina Panthers, digging through the dollar bin at Amoeba, and taking his baby daughter to see the Allah-Lahs at the Santa Monica Pier.
Matt Matasci

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