Across The Cul-De-Sac

Album review

Neo-Americana quintet Money & King are a rarity in Brooklyn's indie landscape. They are a group of seriously good players who don't take themselves quite so seriously. Their 2013 debut, Across the Cul-de-Sac, relies on sharp songwriting, country-tinged harmonies, strong musicianship, and a mix of Byrdsian twang and Nilsson-esque wit. Led by co-songwriters and singers James Sparber and Brandon Goldstein, the album's 12 songs are populated with lovelorn drunks and down-and-outs sung with a sort of wry earnestness over a soundtrack that recalls loose Bakersfield outlaw-meets-'70s singer/songwriter music. Recorded at Sparber's Brooklyn studio and mixed by Anthony Puglisi in Los Angeles, the album is wrapped in a warm analog glow that suits the band's style well. Pedal steel and mandolin find their way into the mix along with warm electric piano, fiddle, and organ. Throughout the album, tones of ramshackle frivolity tumble playfully into pop melancholia. There are rave-ups like "The Question" and "CID" alongside mellower pop gems like "All I Ask" and the wonderful "Praise the Flaming Leaves." The group has a knack for building songs slowly into big, harmonic choruses and there are clever hooks and rhythmic left turns that keep them from being shoehorned too deeply into a particular genre. They have an apparent reverence for the past suggesting deep personal record collections, but their content still wins out over style, proving that for Money & King, songwriting is king. Across the Cul-de-Sac is a winning debut full of easy charm and sparkling musicianship.
© Timothy Monger /TiVo