The Art Museums – Rough Frame (2010) [Woodsist] // Grade: C

The Art Museums are a lo-fi Bay area duo for who have been garnering attention with their throwback to the Scottish indie pop sound of the 80s . Their debut LP Rough Frame is  tough nut to crack… While stand out tracks “Oh, Modern Girl” and “Paris Cafe” are catchy very easy to embrace, the rest of the album, while enjoyable is also forgettable as songs mostly blend together. Part of the problem, is that like most Woodsist releases the album is very much mired in the raw and unfinished lo-fi sound the label has been cultivating for years. And truthfully that isn’t doing The Art Museums any favors.

For example take opening track “We Can’t Handle It”… the bands lackluster and rudimentary drum machine sequencing almost totally overshadow the strength of the vocals and guitar melodies. And while sure that could be (and has been) a charming rough touch, on Rough Frame it just one of many examples of strength of song clashing with presentation. So while I can appreciate the ambition (and a few tracks), it’s the end result that fall short here.

- Banana Wintour