Landlady – Upright Behavior

Seattle – Adam Schatz has been around the block when it comes to today’s music scene, after working with the likes of Man Man and Vampire Weekend and curating a jazz festival in New York City. But it’s his main project, Landlady, that’s set to impress with their latest record Upright Behavior.

The five-piece outfit from Brooklyn released its sophomore album on July 15 via Hometapes – and it’s pretty amazing. Already drawing comparisons to Talking Heads and Dirty Projectors, Landlady’s music is modern art-rock at its best – but their sound is not just one genre. With Schatz on keyboards and vocals, Ian Chang on drums, vocals, and guitar, Mikey Freedom on guitar and vocals, Ian Davis on bass and vocals, and Booker Stardrum on drums, the group utilizes complex orchestrations, unexpected rhythms, a cappella harmonies, and more to create a sound that’s uniquely and identifiably their own.

Opener “Above My Ground” does a virtuosic job of introducing listeners to all Landlady offers on Upright Behavior. Beginning with chiming keys, the song is built one layer at a time, adding in a snare that gently chugs along like a train, before Schatz’s distinctive voice breaks in with the “Ah’s.” Crescendoing into cacophonic complexity, the track artfully slides back into simple rolling drums at its close. It’s a great, thoughtfully composed piece that leads nicely into “Dying Day,” which is filled with surfy guitar, doo-wop backing vocals, and a fuzzy falsetto. “I think I’m getting better every day,” Schatz sings – an interesting juxtaposition with the next line, “I think I’m getting closer to my dying day.”

“Girl” showcases their proclivity for 80’s synth, while follow-up “Under the Yard” has a tight a cappella chorus that wouldn’t be out of place at a 1950’s bandstand. Shimmering guitar and percussion, however, give the track a 21st century feel.

The soaring single “The Globe” is lushly orchestrated, with several distinctive segments spread over its six-minute runtime. Schatz’s delicate vocals muse, “Spinning out of control…Who knows how far we are from home.” The lyrics reflect the spatial, sonic journey presented in the track.

On Upright Behavior’s title track, Landlady experiments with even more to create an immersive and surprising aural experience. The opening harmonies on “Maria” get an African rhythm touch, and the song is filled out with distorted guitar and rollicking percussion. Lyrically, it’s simple – “Oh Maria, come back/ Forgive me Maria, come back” – but the musicality drives the song home.

“Fine” is a good breather song on the album. The penultimate song “Washington State is Important” opens with gentle piano and vocals, before hurtling into a short and groovy bass, then into a great string orchestra halfway through. Finale “X-Ray Machine” has washed out guitar, hammering drums, bouncing bass, and builds into a kaleidoscope of sounds before closing out with a cappella harmonies.

Between its multitude of sonic surprises, smart compositions, and sheer musicality, Upright Behavior is an album to take note of this summer before Landlady kicks off a tour in August.

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Caitlin Peterkin

Caitlin Peterkin is a Seattle transplant fresh from the Midwest. She owes her passion for music to her parents, who filled the house with artists from The Beatles to The Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel to Carly Simon, and Jackson Browne to Michael Jackson. One of her favorite memories includes being presented with her mom’s original vinyl copy of Sgt. Pepper when she got her first record player.

With degrees in journalism and music, Caitlin’s written for Paste Magazine, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and MajoringinMusic.com. She loves cheese, laughing at GIFs of corgis, road trip sing-alongs, and connecting with people over good beer and good music.