Aug. 17 marked the release of Escape from Plaza-Midwood, the full-length debut of Charlotte-based artist Jon Lindsay. On his first LP, Lindsay floats somewhere between Sean Lennon and Ben Kweller--more upbeat than Lennon but less folk-driven than Kweller.Early in the album come two interesting tracks, "These Are the End Times" and "Futuretown." The titles mostly give away their subjects, but lyrically speaking, both are thought provoking and are backed with catchy tunes to boot.
While the album may be firmly in the realm of indie pop, Lindsay does make a few brief forays elsewhere. "I Take Care of You" brings in a bit of steel pedal guitar for a more country, laid back feel, which is immediately followed by "During the Beauty Shortage," a neat electronic interlude that serves as a nice break.
It's roughly after "During the Beauty Shortage" that the album starts to sound a bit sour. Escape from Plaza-Midwood simply loses its momentum, making the last handful of songs feel like they last for an eternity. Longer records can be fantastic (The Suburbs, anyone?), but it doesn't do much for Lindsay. There is no denying that all of the songs are good; however, the songs do better on their own than they do as a part of a full album.
You can catch Lindsay on Thursday, Aug. 19 at Raleigh's Tir na nOg with The Small Ponds and Tomahawks, as part of the always excellent Local Band Local Beer series. He'll also play at Chapel Hill's Local 506 on Sunday, Aug. 29 with The Small Ponds. Escape from Plaza-Midwood is now available on Chocolate Lab Records.
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