The Kingsbury Manx seems gentle and pure on the outside but in reality packs a soft punch under the surface.
In its latest album, Bronze Age, the Chapel Hill folk rock group aims for the clouds with light harmonies and smooth acoustics but limits its feathery features with forced undertones of passive-aggressive rock.
All of _Bronze Age_’s ease solicits a freedom and openness for the listener to float away on, but this whisking-away comes with caution.
The album is like a journey into the sky in a charming yet dangerous hot-air balloon. Songs like the bubbly “Handsprings” and the Simon & Garfunkel-esque “Concubine” launch listeners through wistful clouds in a glowing atmosphere.
However, floating in the air in an unreliable wicker basket with Bill Taylor’s faint vocals brings along a number of dangers.
At a moment’s notice Bronze Age can shift to an unexpected aggression, leading the balloon to pop as its passengers are pushed and pulled by the songs’ apparent anguish.
Overall, The Kingsbury Manx’s transition from folk pop to rock and back to pop again aims for diversity but is shaky. The band attempts to fuse its two distinctive elements in songs like “Solely Bavaria,” but the ending result is more of a clash than cohesion.
The peak of the aerial voyage is hit with “How Things are Done,” the only peaceful blend of folk sentiment and energetic rock.
However, the band cannot consistently stay in the gray area between folk pop and rock for an entire album, and ends up limiting its possibilities by trying to do so. Ultimately, the band limits its potential on Bronze Age by sticking too closely to its self-prescribed style. Dive verdict: ?????
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