With
After the Headrush
,
Art d'Ecco
takes the postmodern self-awareness of his music to the nth degree, name-checking not only
Neil Young
's discography but one of the more infectious tracks off his previous album
In Standard Definition
. It's no coincidence that this set of songs feels like a companion piece to that record's twistedly catchy examinations of nostalgia, but
just might be even more consistent.
D'Ecco
's ear for detail remains sharp, and he mixed
Headrush
with
Mark Lawson
, whose work with
Arcade Fire
suggests he knows something about creating space within a mix. That expertise comes in handy with the album's maximalist take on glam rock, disco, and new wave, all of which were major factors in why
was such a treat. On "Get Loose,"
d'Ecco
delivers lots of platform-shoed fun with note-perfect re-creations of the tight, buzzy guitars, handclaps, shuffling beats, and glittery keyboards of glam in all its vintage glory, then offers a fever-dream take on the style with "Palm Slave"'s swirling keys and saxophone. Inspired by the juxtaposition of his past and present lives that occurred when
moved back to his hometown of Vancouver after nearly 20 years away, the first half of
embodies the nostalgia that
questioned as much as it celebrated. "Until the Sun Comes Up" is a fiendishly catchy dose of nonstop hedonism with a witty viewpoint and nagging hooks worthy of
Sparks
, while "Run Away" is a vocal harmony and brass-laden tribute to the virtues of the three-minute pop song. This being an
album, however, nothing is quite as simple as it seems, and he deconstructs
's facade on its second half. The contrast between the
Bowie
and
Roxy Music
-fueled revelry of "Was a Teenager" and the machine-tooled
Cars
homage "Midlife Crisis" illustrates just how clever -- and surprisingly poignant --
's music can be. Though the escapism gets a little more desperate on "Sad Light Disco," the record's comedown isn't crushing; in fact, the title track closes the set on an oddly triumphant note, and suggests that
has a
Bobby Conn
-like knack for intertwining majesty and defeat. Despite all of the album's pomp,
's message is subtler on
than it was on
. However, his ability to craft songs that sound like hits from an alternate dimension remains obvious. ~ Heather Phares