It takes some confidence to name your band after one of the most revered rivalries in all of United States sports competitions. Once established, you had better be damn sure your group is going to live up to such a prestigious name, lest you look like a gaggle of opportunists quick to capitalize on a title widely renowned for something all its own. Needless to say, I was incredibly curious about Army Navy’s eponymous debut. Though such a famous name rings various bells, not one of those bells tells me anything of what kind of sound a band named Army Navy might have. Would they be a marching band? A military ex-combat veterans’ metal band? Who really knows? However, the ambiguity played well in their favor — sometimes the less you know going in, the better the surprise is waiting on the other side.
Imagine the relief I felt within the first seconds of the album’s lead-off track “Dark as Days” when it was clear that Army Navy is no marching band ensemble, nor are they a band of shell-shocked expats, but instead a finely tuned four-piece of fresh-faced American lads with pop chops to match. This is an album perfectly suited for the final weeks of winter and to the opening doors of what promises to be a most beautiful spring. It is carried by an almost R.E.M.-like aesthetic of indie cred with an unmistakably radio-friendly feel. This is a fairly no-nonsense group, and by nonsense I mean effects, pedals, or noise tracks.
Army Navy have dug themselves a nice cozy home in the side of that beautiful sound of Americana, somewhere between the Eagles, R.E.M., and even Wilco. “Unresponsive ears” plays hard on this sound, with a “Hotel California” strum that makes way for a fuzz backed rhythm guitar and one terrific addition to the same ol’ sound — a xylophone break? Perhaps there is a little bit of marching band backbone here after all. In any case, it works wonders.
There is no shortage of three-chord singalongs on this accomplished debut. Quite honestly, every song on Army Navy could be marketed as a single, which could easily align them in the same media crosshairs as groups like the Kaiser Cheifs, who have been accused of only writing singles. What separates Army Navy from the accused is a certain, indefinable low-fi quality that is so endearing it hurts. Fans of the Replacements or Teenage Fanclub might liken Army Navy to the best of their worst songs. “Ignite” is one such track, sounding off with a simple two-chord punch at the beginning before settling in nicely to a warm fuzzy pop song whose lineage can be traced back all the way to Roy Orbison if one should choose to take it there.
Though the songs use a seemingly unbreakable formula, every line has its chink in the chain. The same midrange tempo and chord progressions that carried the album begin to finally tire halfway through latter half of the album. Army Navy makes it clear that their sound (and influence) needs a little variety every now and then. With such a simple structure, it becomes hard to distinguish one song from the next. Which is not to say they were all poor (quite to the contrary), but even if an album is stellar all the way through, it’s the mix-up track that you remember most. Sadly, there is no such moment on this debut, and it will take several listens to pull apart one track from another. However, to those who give it that little extra effort, the reward is well worthy, as Army Navy is a most credible debut and certainly deserving of carrying on such a heavy handed name as theirs.
Track List
1. Dark as Days (3:42)
2. My Thin Sides (3:51)
3. Saints (3:48)
4. Slight of Hand (4:25)
5. Unresponsive Ears (4:47)
6. Snakes of Hawaii (3:52)
7. Ignite (4:33)
8. Pocket Boys (4:07)
9. Jail is Fine (3:50)
10. In the Lime (4:10)
11. Golden Pony (5:38)
12. Right Back Where We Started From (3:32)
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