Consuming with a melodic, dynamic reach — from jangly intrigue to impassioned alternative and alt-country twang — Through The Static is the fourth album from Super Tuesday. The project is led by singer-songwriter Alex Kisch, noted in the ’90s as a member of alt-rockers Dirty Merchants, and continuing to craft excellent music in recent years with this vehicle. Super Tuesday’s previous album, Future Tense, caught our ears last year with its array of high-quality songwriting — a tendency also shown here with the captivating Through The Static, which is out on June 20th.
Commencing the album with a jangling radiance, “Natural Mystery” builds seamlessly from its effervescent initial stride into an introspective steadiness. “Play it louder,” Kisch’s vocals repeat with compelling momentum, arising into a harmonious rumination on how identity can evolve with passing time. “The future is unwritten, identity is fiction, don’t you know,” Kisch sings there. A hazier subduedness enamors on the ensuing “Carpe Diem,” where twangy guitars bolster contemplative vocals that remind it’s “no time for grieving,” as accounts of loss linger; the aesthetic reminds stirringly of Cass McCombs in its delectable twangs, debonair vocal disposition, and riveting guitar solo into the three-minute turn.
Aspirations to “not feel sorry for myself” are delivered enjoyably on the stellar “Orphans,” continuing themes of loss and time’s passage within an alt-country nostalgia — showing shades of Tom Petty in its “no remedy,” reminders and beckoning to “go back to the good old days.” The portrayal of orphan status as adults — living on memories with a day-by-day mentality — feels artfully attached to “Carpe Diem” in its thematic hold. In another realm, where love and adoration flow with more expressive sentimentality, “My Love Don’t Sleep” infuses mellow keys and sporadic guitar pushes into a melodic declaration of how one’s love is “up at dawn” and constant in its glow.
Kisch’s knack for timeless-sounding earworms is also evident on the standout “Soaking Up The Silence,” where jangling guitar pulses shine alongside a hypnotic vocal push reminding how “we’ve all got out dreams,” within an alt-rock and power-pop convergence reminiscent of Teenage Fanclub. The preceding “Cliffridge (Part 2)” enchants with a solemn blend of stately piano lushness and gorgeous vocal harmonies, sounding at points like a cut from The Beach Boys’ Surf’s Up album. Succeeding across both subdued atmospheric gems like “Cliffridge (Part 2)” to jangling bursts of life such as “Soaking Up The Silence,” Through The Static represents another dynamic, melodic success from Super Tuesday.
