Hospitality debuts an eclectic album

By Benjamin Huber-Rodriguez     2/1/12 6:00pm

It's common practice to describe a band as a cross of "X and Y," and usually that's enough for you to get a good feel for what you are in for. I racked my brain trying to come up with such an example for the indie band Hospitality but could not come up with any fewer than four groups spliced together. Simply put, Hospitality sounds very familiar, yet the band twists away from anyone trying to put a finger on its sound. The result is stunning. (Just for fun, try Vampire Weekend plus Dirty Projectors plus The XX plus Fleet Foxes).

Hospitality's self-titled debut album was recorded almost a year ago but is just now being released by Merge Records. The Brooklyn trio consists of the singer, songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist Amber Papini; the drummer, flutist, harmonica and keyboardist Nathan Michel; and the guitarist and bassist Brian Bentacourt. From its many instrumental talents, this so-called "minimalist" group is anything but minimally endowed.

In just 35 minutes, Hospitality's 10 tracks flirt with club jazz, dabble in progressive math rock, morph into giant brass sections and dissolve into oceans of synthesizer. Driving kick-drum beats crescendo unexpectedly into poppy Afro-rock guitar solos. Charming saxophones peek out behind vibraphones. Clean guitar chords are filled out by a chorus of harmonies. The lush instrumentation beautifully juxtaposes Papini's simple, wandering melodies.

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Hospitality compels listeners to play the "guess the influence" game. The opener, "Eighth Street," sounds decidedly bossa nova until the synth sounds take over and give it a New Wave feel. The catchy single "Betty Wang" brings quirkiness akin to Vampire Weekend and mixes it with the gab-jamming lyrics of an Arctic Monkeys track. Papini even recruited her sister to sing backup harmonies, giving the song a bit of a folk-rock feel. One listen of "The Birthday" should evoke in all but the most sheltered listeners the tempo-driven frenzy of Talking Heads, just as the flashy saxophones on "Friends of Friends" weave around like a swanky jazz band swinging with The Strokes.

As stylistically different as each track is, Papini's voice links all of them back to their roots: chilled-out Oxford rock. After one listen through the album, the songs sound profoundly distinct to Hospitality; they really couldn't be anyone else. Guitar solos with a little more distortion than you would've expected don't seem foreign, and quarter-beat buildups don't break into arena anthems. Papini doesn't let anything get too far away from her domain: cool, calm and collected. Though the band likes to get fancy with layers, the album never becomes difficult or loud; rather than loud building choruses, songs break into easy oceans of sound.

Hospitality's ambition doesn't quite get there on every track. The closer, "All Day Today," promises an endgame but fails to materialize and leaves the listener disappointed, and "The Right Profession," which starts out catchy, possesses some cringe-worthy harmonies alongside some cliched '80s sounds that sound a bit too fast-paced for Hospitality.

Hospitality tells tales of one 20-something Yale graduate's sly social commentaries about boys, college, jobs and friends. Papini expresses her disappointment in a monotonous social life in "Friends of Friends." "Liberal Arts" regales for us the disappointment upon realizing college can provide actual headaches in addition to hangovers. "Sleepover" plays the role of a girl fantasizing about a perfect, simple relationship with someone she isn't too sure she's even emotionally invested in but strings along all the same.

Her feelings are accurate for her archetype but don't offer too much in the way of metaphysical breakthroughs. Still, she plays a kind of Holden Caulfield with her familiar, yet insightful, comments on the more mundane aspects of youth social culture.

As a whole, Hospitality accomplishes its goal of being a successful indie pop record. The non-traditional arrangements and instrumentation combined with Papini's light and charming melodies leave the listener satisfied, if not a bit yearning. The music can be easy, so let it roll while you're finishing up a problem set.

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