The Natural History - Beat Beat Hearbeat

Making a splash with their auspicious self-titled EP, The Natural History became yet another band from New York City whose massive press attention was ridiculously inverse in proportion to their total recorded output (a whopping five songs at that point). Fortunately for the rest of us, TNH managed to justify the hype on their follow-up disc, an ear-pleasing delight that pads the best songs off the EP with stellar new material that paints a bright future for this young group. Propelled by Max Tepper’s just-got-out-of-bed howl (imagine a far more gravelly Elvis Costello, or maybe a pop-leaning teenage Tom Waits) and off-kilter guitar hooks, his brother Julian’s driving (and even almost-funky) basslines, and Derek Vockins vintage drum sounds, The Natural History come off with 11 disjointed – in the best way possible – songs that blend garage energy with new-wave jaggedness, and even a hint of old rock-n-soul. While the obtuse, Stipe-ian lyrics may make some listeners yearn for a little more backstory on just what the hell these great songs are about, the overall effect is still a positive one; a challenging listen is often a more rewarding one. Clocking in rather briskly, Beat Beat Heartbeat definitely leaves the listener wanting more. Yet if the wiry “Telling Lies Will Get You Nowhere” and the pop smarts of “Broken Language” are any indication, anticipation will be justifiably high for whatever this Brooklyn threesome has next up their sleeves. [www.thenaturalhistory.com]