album review: ducktails, ducktails III: arcade dynamics

Back in February 2011, I got an email informing me of the third album release from Ducktails, Matthew Mondanile’s one-man psychedelic pop project. I must admit I wasn’t able to really listen to Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics until last week. I remember looking at the extremely laudatory write up and accompanying photo of a somewhat smug twentysomething in chic sunglasses on the beach and instantly thought to myself, “this has got to be another hipster band”.

I doubt I am alone in coming to that first impression, but that doesn’t justify it. After a solid week of listening to the album, I can confidently inform you of how wrong I was. Arcade Dynamics is well worth your time.

Upon deeper research, I discovered that Monandile, the Real Estate guitarist, is exquisitely talented, hails from the same place my dad grew up in and now lives in the Brooklyn neighborhood right next to my very own.

The belated timing of my decision to jump on the Ducktails bandwagon couldn’t have been more perfect, though, because while you guys in Australia are heading into winter, we here in New York are dying to wear our spring jackets for more than one day straight. This past winter has been the longest I can remember and it’s only just beginning to look and feel like spring now, about a month later than typical. The phrase “canceled due to inclement weather” has never made me cringe so instinctively. Every day the temperatures get above 15C, you can see and smell all of New York City flirting with the imminent summer.

Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics is the perfect summer soundtrack, whether you’re sitting on a rooftop beer garden as dusk approaches, outside in the park in the late afternoon or up early making the voyage to Coney Island or some other beach. Not since last year’s Girls or Best Coast have I listened to a musician who can quite as masterfully blend elements of the ‘60s pop, chillwave, and psychedelic genres to achieve a sound that so naturally evokes the carefree ease of the summer months.

The strongest tracks on Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics are “Hamilton Road”, lead single “Killin the Vibe” featuring indie superstar Panda Bear, “Don’t Make Plans” and “Art Vandelay”. These songs each contain the kinds of dreamy melodies, simple lyrics, vocal distortions, catchy guitar work and hazy production techniques that make you feel like you could be in The Wonder Years. The honest, feel-good “vibe” of the whole album shines through perfectly in any one of those songs, and it is contagious long after Arcade Dynamics is over.

What makes Ducktails so captivating, though, is Mondanile’s ability to successfully operate outside dressed up, catchy pop tunes. Instrumental tracks from Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics like “The Razor’s Edge” and final song “Porch Projector” are technically more complex, soundtrack-ready, darker, and perhaps best classified as experimental. In listening through the album so many times, the simultaneously haunting and comforting compositions of these songs particularly reminded me of the power and the talent of Sonic Youth’s Simon Werner a Disparu.

This space wherein Mondanile really experiments is where his sound will grow. It’s especially amazing and exciting when you remember that he is a one-man project already producing this level of technical intricate complexity. In looking at his modestly charming website, I am excited to see what organically develops as Ducktails inevitably gets bigger.

Just goes to show you, faithful Lip readers – never judge a book (or album, or write up) by its cover, despite how hip you’ve become.

Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics is out now on Woodsist Records / Remote Control.