I've Been Watching a Lot of Horror Movies Lately

'I've Been Watching a Lot of Horror Movies Lately needs to see a psychiatrist. Rarely does a record possess such clearly split personalities, and even less often does one do it so successfully. In fact, never mind. Let's leave it unmedicated. The Harvey Girls, a Portland husband-and-wife duo that shares its name with a 1946 Judy Garland film based on a book by Samuel Hopkins Adams, do so much more than two people reasonably should. Melissa Rodenbeek and Hiram Lucke infuse each of the album's nine songs with their own personality, one that may or may not make any sense whatsoever in the album's context. Fortunately, all of Horror's songs play well with others. Although the record begins with bird noises and horse whinnying before it launches leadoff "The Body Without Any Eyes," the most Americana-centric track the record's got, it certainly wanders far from this bluegrass-y starting point. "Fwiw" and "Caerse Muerto," with their low vocals, near-tribal percussion, and melodic post-pop layers, have little in common with the almost electro-dance bent of "Smile Like Gwynplaine." The latter is a whirring, synth-heavy romp reminiscent of the slanted pop of The Unicorns while maintaining an almost military snare-and-stick-drumming backing. Conversely, "Puss" saunters off into much more psychedelic territory, all whining backwards guitar and breathy vocals. Supplemented by a string section, the voice collage takes on a blissful, fantastical quality almost un-echoed in the rest of the album. "A Letter to the Bees," the record's only other like-minded number, features Smashing-Pumpkins-esque humming over almost quintessential 90s alternative percussion and jangly tambourine. The songs seem taken from unrelated mental homes, formed out of disparate musical precedent, and explored with an instrumental grab bag that's as surprising as it is mysterious.' – Julia Reidy / Tiny Mix Tapes