Monorail! Monorail! Monorail! I just can't say this band's name without thinking of that classic musical number from "The Simpsons," led by the late Phil Hartman's delightfully shady salesman Lyle Lanley. Naturally, in true Simpsons fashion, nothing regarding Springfield's short-lived foray into the world of efficient mass transportation goes well, and the town ends up with yet another big, useless folly to put next to the tire fire, the popsicle stick skyscraper and the escalator to nowhere. Thankfully, this Louisville, Kentucky quartet's debut album is pretty much the exact opposite of Springfield, USA's monorail-- not only is it well-structured, but it even delivers its hooks on time.

Though in fact a rock album recorded for an indie label, Essex is not a wholly typical indie rock album. First of all, it opens with a sound collage of disembodied drum fills and voices recorded in varying states of lo-finess called "Regularize." While this in and of itself is not especially revolutionary, it's the fact that the band doesn't shy away from using similar tactics to spice up the batch of songs they've cooked up to fill the rest of the album that truly impresses.

"It's Hard to Keep Things Clean" kicks off at the end of "Regularize" with pounding drums and chugging rhythms to support the slightly off-kilter melody. Though his phrasing gets better as the album wears on, it's already apparent here that vocalist Tom Cantrell has a strong set of pipes. But it's not really until the album's centerpiece, the spacy "Valley of Green Lights," that his potential as a singer really becomes apparent. Over what could best be described as a clean shoegazer backing, his voice just soars, tackling lyrics about all manner of little mundanities that color small town life, from the guy on the "rumbling crotch rocket Honda" waiting for the light to change to the bowling league meeting every Thursday. The iridescent keyboards in the background fit appropriately with the title, effectively conjuring the artificial lights of the modern world.

Elsewhere, "Master Plan" takes a fairly conventional song chassis with programmed beats and grafts live drum fills onto it, bringing Charles A. Bailey II's solid drumming into the forefront of the mix. Bailey also plays a rhythmic foil to the drum machine, battling its steady pulse with syncopated playing and intentionally moving out of synch with it at the song's conclusion. Meanwhile, on top of this, there's a pretty interesting song happening. Marc Linquist's synths squeal like mad and the simplicity of Cantrell's melody is subverted by the crazy dub going on behind it. It's remarkable that such a young band manages to pull off a song like this without derailing. Er, thank you. I'll be here all week.

Perhaps the album's finest song, though, is "Kentucky Morning," a slow-burning anthem laced with feedback-drenched guitars that pour into every crack of the song, but never overtake the vocals. In fact, considering how much sound there is packed into the song, it's amazing how clear the mix is-- importantly, the emphasis is on restraint and texture, not visceral response. This is followed by "Hummingbird," with booming drums that would sound nice and cozy on a Flaming Lips record and floating electric piano lines that help propel the harmony. The song builds to tense, synth-soaked climaxes in each chorus, which highlights just how fluid the verse rhythm is.

The band rounds out their sound with a few more straightforward rock songs, like "Padre," "Arcane," and the bounding closer "With Your Eyes Closed." "Padre" boasts a particularly catchy chorus and some sterling lead guitar work. Even these songs exhibit as certain flair for what Cantrell terms "sonic parlor tricks," though, as found in the phased drums that open "Padre," or the way John Poole's catchy bass hook bursts forward in the mix between lines in "With Your Eyes Closed."

Monorail seem to constantly strive to give their songs an edge of experimentation when they could just as easily leave them for what they are and get by. It stands to reason that the occasional melodic wrinkle that pops up here should be fairly well ironed out by their next effort, which I'll be looking forward to. So now comes the part of this job that I like perhaps more than any other: the part where I recommend an utterly worthy record that might not have otherwise crossed your path. If we know what's good for us, mass transportation will be the wave of the future. Be the first one on your block to check out the monorail.

-Joe Tangari, April 10th, 2002