Settle – At Home We Are Tourists

Apparently Philadelphia’s post-punk indie outfit Settle wrote fifty songs before deciding which twelve would make their debut.  And after listening to what made it onto At Home We Are Tourists, I believe it.  But rather than working towards the most focused, conceptualized fit, the result feels as if the band sampled various musical styles, couldn’t decide which one to stay with, tried perfecting a song in each, and then threw their favourites onto the same disc – for a result that almost sounds like a label sampler.

At Home We Are Tourists contains tinges of indie, rock, punk, post-punk, dance-pop, electronic, and everything in between.

The album opens with “Grand Marshall’s Mooncloth Robes.”  The song features static, muffled vocals, a bouncing rythm, and a poppy, “original” chorus with hard-hitting lyrics like “La, la la, la la, la la la.”  For an album opener it’s actually pretty forgettable, and on repeat listens I’ve found myself either anxious for the track to end, or just skipping on by.  The second track starts off with a distinctive electronic hum that instantly reminded me of something by French dance duo Fischerspooner.  But then the monotone vocals startup, making the track feel almost like something from The Strokes, followed by poppy electronic synth beats reminiscent of labelmates Motion City Soundtrack.  As if to further confuse the listener the band follows up with “Rite of Passage,” a track sounding very much like an upbeat Brand New or Manchester Orchestra track.

I could go on – oh could I go on – but I think I’ve made my point. The band is great at imitation, but doesn’t really synthesize anything new or unique.  It’s not that Settle draw upon too many influences, but rather that they treat them as separate entities and relegate them to specific portions of songs, or entire songs altogether.

Had At Home We Are Tourists been a label sampler I probably would have explored each band thoroughly.  But as a single product the album feels overwhelming.  It was almost exhausting to listen to – my brain constantly realigning itself after each track.  Now don’t get me wrong, Settle demonstrate great musicianship and can throw together a mean melody in practically any alternative genre, but as an album, Had At Home We Are Tourists needs a unifying force to hold everything together.  And if they settle on a direction for future releases, Settle will be a mean addition to whichever genre they pursue.