John Vanderslice

Romanian Names (Dead Oceans)

By Adrienne Urbanski
Published: June 3rd, 2009 | 7:00am

Mr. Vanderslice certainly seems to have cheered up since his previous two records. Whereas Vanderslice’s lyrics on 2007’s Emerald City and 2005’s Pixel Revolt (both on Barsuk) showed great detail and narrative, the songs here are a little less wordy — with Vanderslice hitting home the chorus more than the verse and devoting more of his energy to catchy refrains.

Romanian Names opens with “Tremble and Tear,” a track that, despite its foreboding title, has the light, gleeful sound of a bright summer’s day, his cheery voice belting forth, "Here comes the one / Here comes the one, the one, the one / Yeah she's the one / It's going to do it to me, do it to me, do it to me." “Fetal Horses” features an equally upbeat tempo with a slightly distorted, intentionally off-kilter melody matching purposely skewed vocals that channel Conor Oberst. Vanderslice always remains unequivocally bittersweet, deliberately lacing his cheery pop gems with bits of sadness and hesitation, perhaps making his seemingly optimistic disposition far more palatable. Compared to his previous albums, Romanian Names seems to be the most gleeful and sincerely happy — with only the slightest taste of cynicism.

Much like PJ Harvey, Vanderslice’s songs aren’t necessarily autobiographical, sometimes they focus on the lives of the bizarre, neurotic, and sexually conflicted. This is seen in the title track, which seems to be about a man obsessed with a competitive gymnast, heard in the lyrics, “When you fell off the balance beam you couldn’t win / But you jumped up again.” Clocking in at only one minute and 39 seconds, it seems an odd choice for a centerpiece.

“Forest Knolls” has Vanderslice watching deer from the window and ruminating on the disconnect of modern man from nature, suggesting that if he were to enter into the natural world, he’d never be able to survive. With a tense, building drumbeat and low vocals, it stands out from the rest of the album with its noticeable shift in tone. Its original subject matter and sound make it one of the most appealing tracks on the album.

Regardless of how long-term Vanderslice fans may feel about the stylistic changes, Romanian Names is an undeniably great album, even if it often opts for simplicity.

—