The third album by Ducktails, the side-project from Matt Mondanile of critically-acclaimed New Jersey indie outfit Real Estate, is a delightful collection of atmospheric psych-pop that should find favour with fans of US underground mavericks like Deerhunter and Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti.
‘Ivy House’ kicks off proceedings in inspired fashion, offering an irresistible mix of trippy guitar sounds and trancey vocals. The slowburning title-track is followed by the surprisingly uptempo ‘Under Cover’, which is the first track on the album to betray a disco influence. With its groovy bassline and hissing hi-hats, it actually has the feel of a funkier My Bloody Valentine. ‘Timothy Shy’ is more groove-led psych-pop, this time propelled by jaunty piano and augmented by skewed string sounds.
Throughout The Flower Lane, Mondanile oversees a large number of collaborators and makes particularly excellent use of female vocalists, with Madeline Follin of Cults fitting in perfectly with the chillwave ambience of ‘Sedan Magic’ and Jessica Farkas’ hypnotic vocals perfectly complementing the dreamy ‘Letter Of Intent’. Elsewhere, ‘International Date Line’ is driven by a terrific motorik groove and the closing ‘Academy Avenue’ is an acoustic beauty layered with woozy psychedelic sounds.
Overall, wonderful stuff.