Last Place

Audio Mixer: Adam Lasus.
Recording information: Eldorado Studios, Burbank, CA; Fireproof Recording.
Photographer: Stella Berkofsky.
Don't let the monochrome cover art fool you. Army Navy's second album may be colorless on the outside, but it's as bright as the Sunset Strip on the interior, filled with the same sort of sunny, retro power pop championed by fellow Angelenos in Rooney, the Waking Hours, and Everybody Else. Like those bands, Army Navy don't want to break new ground as much as resurrect the old songbooks of Superchunk and Beater-era Posies, making The Last Place the kind of classicist album that proudly wears its influences on its sleeve. The songs are all vaguely familiar, as though they've been floating around the FM dial since the `70s, just waiting for an Alex Chilton disciple to pluck them out of the ether and throw them down onto analog tape. Sounding like another band seems to be Army Navy's whole goal, after all. Still, there's enough charm in these fizzy melodies and jangling guitars to convert fans who don't have a taste for traditional power pop, and frontman Justin Kennedy puts a unique spin on the album's lyrics, which deal with the sort of romantic breakup that would reduce most men to minor chords. Here, he pines for his lost September Gurl with equal parts heartbreak (sample lyric: "I know I'm right, but I don't want to fight for you") and shiny, major-key polish, balancing out the sad content with upbeat hooks. ~ Andrew Leahey