By DCist Contributor Alex Tebeleff

The first moments of “Lady Modegreen,” the opening track of Stranger In the Alps’ Pattern Matching, feels jarringly cold. Lyrics like “Living day-to-day is getting old” with a drum machine and dry vocal delivery just aren’t what you’d expect from songwriter Steve Kolowich, given the cheery music.

But soon enough, warm acoustic guitars, synths, and pedal steel guitars swing the dynamic entirely the other way, before it slides through various arrangements to great effect for the rest of the tune. There’s even a reverb-heavy fuzz guitar in the distance towards the end of the song that sounds eerily reminiscent of Can’s Michael Karoli. This song shines on the album, bringing a tasteful sense of experimentation that makes this much more than your usual “songwriter” record. Pattern Matching has varying degrees of atmosphere and, most importantly, a mature sense of dynamics and arrangement.

With the next track, “Pattern Matching,” we slide into the kind of quality lyric-driven country-folk you’d expect to hear from the beginning, and with “For Our Sake,” things rock a bit harder as the song builds. “Black Box” shines with the help of Louis Weeks on synthesizer. Almost all of Weeks’ parts on the album work to add depth to the material. An emotional arc and surprising contrasts bring us halfway through the album.

“Small Blade” is one of the album’s stronger tracks, mixing the best of Stranger In The Alps’ songwriter/folk world and the album’s atmospheric tendencies. Some of the catchy guitar hooks would certainly not sound out of place on a Steve Earle album, while the atmosphere created by the hammered percussion, the openness of the acoustic guitars, and changes in arrangement towards the end of the song makes it a more engaging experience for active listeners. It’s the little things that really make this track special.

“Love Afraid” is a classic—a slow, acoustic album closer. Lyrically, it sticks out with direct and earnest lyrics. There’s no beating around the bush, but the chorus line, “I love you / I’m afraid,” is a wonderfully interesting turn of phrase. Is he actually afraid of this particular love or love in general? Is it just a matter of speech to the person he’s singing to? Is it both? Once again, the extra instrumental embellishments (this time pedal steel and echoed percussion) that hesitantly come out halfway through the song bring atmosphere and help engage the listener’s ear right at the point where one might start drifting.

Pattern Matching is a smart, catchy, and creative record worthy of repeated listens. In the world of Stranger in the Alps, strength is found in simplicity, imagination and the sparkling little things.

Stranger in the Alps plays this Sunday night, February 8th, at the Black Cat with Fellow Creatures and Rachel Ries.