Illustration titled "So At Last They Came Down to the Pier, Gorgeous" by Katharine Pyle from Harriet Morgan's The Island Impossible, 1899
Considering that May has been a big month for new releases, I oddly haven't written about a brand-new album in a couple weeks. I've just picked up several new albums, though, and one of the best of the lot is Tobin Sprout's The Bluebirds of Happiness Tried to Land on My Shoulder. The Michigan-based songwriter, painter, and kiddie-lit author used to be a strong supporting member of Ohio's Guided By Voices, but he has, well, "branched out" over the last decade. This has meant that his musical releases have become infrequent, which can be frustrating for those of us who remember when Sprout was part of indie-rock's most prolific group. But, while his recent albums have been released fairly quietly and not received much attention, they are always worth a listen. And I use the word "recent", even though The Bluebirds of Happiness... is Sprout's first album since 2003's Lost Planets & Phantom Voices.
Some things have changed in Tobin Sprout's sound since that time, and some things haven't. For one thing, while Sprout's voice is still quavering and helium-high, it has mellowed a bit and has a more mature, melancholy sound to it. His music has also take on a more somber and introspective tone, but The Bluebirds of Happiness... never sounds dull. Sprout still has a knack for catchy melodies and pop arrangements, and his use of sound is better than ever on this record. Recorded at his home studio, Moonflower, in Leland, Michigan, The Bluebirds of Happiness... takes the ramshackle indie-pop of his earlier records and transforms it into something more singular, a pocket dimension of pocket symphonies with a lovely, dreamy feeling. The toy-soldier drum machines, Twin-Peaks synths, and strummed guitar still provide the foundation for his songs, but they have a careful craftsmanship to them now that makes the album a rewarding listen on headphones.
Some of the songs on The Bluebirds of Happiness... are clear throwbacks to earlier periods - "You Make My World Go Down" has the growl and bite of his "rock" side project, Eyesinweasel, and "Soul Superman" takes me all the way back to the chiming pop sounds of his best record, 1997's Moonflower Plastic. But these songs are digressions - the core of the album is a set of sepia-tinted reminiscences of love and family, which become more elegiac as The Bluebirds of Happiness... winds down to its conclusion. The album's signature tune is probably its opener, "Pretty" - built on a bouncy piano riff, it's easy to miss the sad tinge to the song's remembrances of young love. The whole album sounds like a "pretty" farewell, but Sprout has hinted that this will not be his last musical release. I hope that he makes room in his busy schedule to record more records like this one.
"Pretty" by Tobin Sprout
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