Soundtrack To The End

It's hard not to hear the ghosts of John Solomon's former band, Friends Like These, echoing through Communist Daughter's debut album, but not because the bands sound anything alike. FLT's stuttering, hellbent swagger is nowhere to be found on Soundtrack To The End, and in its place is tattered regret over wasted youth and missed opportunities. When Solomon croons the opening lines of the title track ("We put on a pretty face / and we never saved our money / and then we got stuck in place / and I lost my milk and honey"), he might be addressing a failed love affair, but a much bigger loss lies between the lines. 

Named after a Neutral Milk Hotel song, Communist Daughter began as a tribute/cover project, and although Jeff Mangum's influence creeps in on "Fortunate Son"—a late album standout driven by organ and broken drums—it's not the most immediate one. "Not The Kid" evokes Spoon and The Kinks' "Lola" with its stumbling melody, and "Speed Of Sound" opens with soft oohs much like The Shins' life-changing "New Slang."

But then, Solomon has never resisted being derivative, instead embracing influences and wringing from them juice that seemed long since gone. The album's highlights ("Not The Kid," the giant, rolling "Oceans," the sweet, gentle closer "Minnesota Girls") blend ambition with bitterness, both sonically and lyrically, though the middle of the record sags with three consecutive mellow numbers. Despite the title, Soundtrack To The End heralds great things to come from this band.

Communist Daughter celebrates the album's release with a show at the Fine Line Music Cafe on Friday.