The Autumn Defense - The Autumn Defense

I admit to a weakness for mellow, sunny pop of the lovelorn, strummy acoustic variety. I can’t help it. There’s something about the warmth, the harmonies, and the joy that seems to radiate from the music that’s just hard for me to ignore. The folky, singer-songwriter stuff is just about my bread and butter (and would be, if it weren’t for the fact that I dig a kick ass electric guitar solo every so often).

I also really like Wilco and any band or side project even remotely connected to them.

So it shouldn’t come as any surprise that I really like the new album by the Autumn Defense. I mean, sunny, folky pop with great harmonies and strummed acoustic guitars? Wilco musician John Stirratt? What’s not to like?

And really, the strength of the tunes here means this music would stand on its own even without those prior endorsements and caveats. The Autumn Defense has had three albums to perfect their craft, and perfect it they have. It seamlessly blends folk, pop, jazz, bossa nova, ‘70s singer-songwriter, and a little bit of whatever else was lying around to create a tasty blend of acoustic guitars, delicate piano, subtle percussion, a touch of slide guitar once in awhile, and a hint of strings, horns, and synthesized woodwinds.

This record is more up-tempo than the Autumn Defense’s previous effort, Circles. The jazz and world beat influences are also more obvious on this record. “Canyon Arrow” has an insistent groove that wouldn’t be out of place on an old-school Latin dance album from the 1970s. "Estate Remains" and "Simple Explanation" rock in a folksy, Byrds sort of way. "City Bells" is a gorgeous piano-led ballad that sits at the heart of the record, both literally and metaphorically.

The album is really all about harmony and interconnection, especially between the dual voices and guitars of John Stirratt and Pat Sansone. These two guys can harmonize like nobody's business, and their guitars (Sansone usually sports a 3/4-size classical guitar while Stirratt sticks to the more standard full-size acoustic) bounce off of each other, trading lines and leads and riffs as though the two men shared a brain. Their backing band seems to share the brainwave, too, because they follow Stirratt and Sansone down the garden path and discover some beautiful and melodic music there.

The Autumn Defense is easily one of the prettiest albums I've heard in ages and definitely worth picking up if you like mellow California pop. If you can find it (which is tricky; I had to attend one of their live shows to get my hands on it), grab it. You won't be disappointed.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: The Autumn Defense, "Simple Explanation"