While we appreciated Title Tracks‘ debut album, It Was Easy, we also recognized that many listeners probably would not give it the second and third listens that it deserved. While that album had many cool nuances and forays into new sonic territories, it also lacked the immediacy vital to fueling the power-pop tunes that dominated the disc.
John Davis and company attended to that issue handily with their second effort, In Blank. It comes out of the gates with “Shaking Hands”, a two-minute bottle rocket of a song that pairs equally speedy drumming and strumming. The follow-up is “Turn Your Face”, which is the best example on the album of everything that Davis does right. The song splits the difference between blistering and danceable as it forges on with a timeless power pop riff that lies somewhere between a cleaned up Wipers and a sped up Three. It has the most teeth of any album on In Blank (although “Light Sleepers” comes close) and has so much bounce that it’s easy to miss the dark lyrical content. “Did you turn your face into wounds that don’t define you?” is just as biting as the kiss-offs Davis delivers in It Was Easy stand out “Piles of Paper.”
Perhaps Davis’ biggest strength is his lyrical prowess. He excels at stringing together meaningful thought-provoking phrasing replete with polysyllabic words. Furthermore, his delivery is effortless and he never trips over his words. This lyrical strength ends up carrying the album towards the end (for example, “Your involuted phrasing only fans frustration” from “All Tricks”). While the lone hazy ballad “Forget the Ghost” provides a needed pause after five up-tempo numbers, it also serves as an unintentional dividing line. Most of the tracks that follow “Forget the Ghost” don’t pack the same punch as those that precede it. The strongest song on side B is “Winners Cry”, which sounds like a lost track from an early New Pornographers album and closes out the album with the best harmonies outside of “Forget the Ghost”.
A couple of years ago, before XM Radio merged with Sirius and WOXY went the way of the dodo, John Davis used to DJ a radio show called “1, 2, 3, 4.” It showcased why he is regularly called upon to create playlists or guest DJ events: his knowledge of rock and roll runs deep. While It Was Easy showcased this knowledge, In Blank tightened the reins, suggesting that Davis is showcasing his songwriting strengths rather than putting out feelers. As such, In Blank a more classic sounding album that demands repeat listens rather than quietly asking for them.
Title Tracks play at Fort Reno tonight, along with Office of Future Plans and the Akoma Drummers.
