Performer Magazine Review
A challenging, complex record, Future Sons & Daughters offers the sophisticated ear an exceptional experience, something like an amalgamation of Beck and the Beach Boys at their best.
AM (who’s the namesake of the band) worked on the disc with Charles Newman – the mix master of many Magnetic Fields albums – in his Silverlake cottage, where Elliott Smith actually used to live. A stunning songwriter and skilled vocalist, AM crafted a beautiful base for his band to build upon. Carol Kaye, a studio musician who played bass on Pet Sounds, gave lessons to AM’s bassist Mark Geffen prior to the Future Sons & Daughters session. The influence is striking – a spectacular result. Butch Norton (who has played with both the Eels and Lucinda Williams) reigns down drowsy drums and a dripping conga provided by Chris Lovejoy rounds out the rhythm section. Scintillating synth and keys work by Jesse Nason deepen the tracks, finishing them with a full, luscious sound – like a more crisp, contemporary incarnation of Phil Spector’s famous “Wall of Sound” effect.
The melting, modern alt-bossa nova, “It’s Been So Long,” feels like a reboot of Urge Overkill’s cover of “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon.” This track’s duet between AM and a delicate-sounding Andrea Correa hearkens the Bangles’ sultry Susanna Hoff’s rendition of “The Look of Love.” The bass line basks in the limelight, lending an even more lecherous feel to the sexy lo-fi sound. “Endings are Beginnings” is a beautiful song, very light and ’70s in its cadence, like 10cc or Bread.
Much has been made, critically, of AM’s success in television and movie song placement, from ABC’s Brothers and Sisters to HBO’s Big Love and MTV’s The Real World. However, it’s easy to offset any potential undercutting of his credibility with his performance at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and a spring tour with the French princes of electro-pop, Air. AM’s 2006 release, Troubled Times, was also named one of the best indie albums of the year by iTunes.
Brian Wilson is quoted as saying that the Beatles’ Rubber Soul inspired many of the qualities of Pet Sounds, while Paul McCartney is supposed to have said that Pet Sounds influenced Sgt. Pepper’s. These albums still inspire to this day – as seen in Future Sons & Daughters – but AM wears them with poise, while still preserving his own sound.
