Mini Mansions
hinted they were getting more serious -- or, at least, more confessional -- with the title track of their 2018 EP
Works Every Time
. As it turns out, that was just a glimpse of the musical and emotional territory they cover on
Guy Walks into a Barâ?¦
. The band's third album presents singer/multi-instrumentalist
Michael Shuman
's ill-fated, whirlwind relationship with his ex-fiancee as a joke with a giddy setup -- and a painful punch line. The steep rise and fall of this romance honed
' already sharp songwriting, and the first half of
is as immediate and irresistible as love at first sight. From the slow-motion, disco-tinged prologue of "We Should Be Dancing" to the fizzy piano pop of "I'm in Love," these songs are made out of the addictive adrenaline and endorphin rush of a new relationship. At times,
sound like they might be even more in love with love (or lust) itself than with an actual woman: "Don't Even Know You" is a rose-tinted montage of romantic images with helium-laced vocals that would do
Marc Bolan
proud, while "Bad Things (That Make You Feel Good)" -- which sounds like
Devo
on the prowl -- and "Forgot Your Name"'s chrome-plated new wave get carried away by their own head-over-heels momentum. Since
begins on such a high, its inevitable lows hit all the harder. On the album's second half,
don't just fall out of love; they fall in love in reverse. In a neat mirror image, the disco and new wave thrills of the album's first half curdle on the sullenly slinky "GummyBear" and "Living in the Future," a glittery yet bitter piece of synth-rock that could be a face-off between
Supertramp
and
Sparks
. The band manages to make heartache almost as appealing as falling in love on "Works Every Time," where lyrics like "sky's flashing like a zoetrope as the stars fall apart on the floor," reflect
Shuman
's longing with fittingly glam-rock imagery. They also flip the script with "Hey Lover," a duet that sounds like a soft-focus love song until
the Kills
'
Alison Mosshart
responds to
with a tender "hey, f*cker" before the song builds to climactic harmonies. Moments like these prove that even when they're heartbroken,
are remarkably witty, and the way they combine their cleverness with newfound emotional depth makes
their most satisfying album yet. ~ Heather Phares