Written by: Dave Cantrell

So, y’know, things arrive. CDs, CD-Rs, promo link emails and every rare once in a while actual vinyl and I’m rather certain there’s no point in pointing out which format elicits the heartiest ‘Oh boy!, especially among the old codger contingent amidst which your correspondent is now as full-fledged as full-fledged gets. Thus it was a month plus ago when a tidy tell-tale mailer was slid gently upon our porch by our trusty USPS driver, return address HHBTM Records, Athens GA and the heart, gently in its joy, skipped a tiny beat and, yes, there’s some analogy nestled somewhere inside that phrasing that comports with a needle on a record but A) that’s a bit too trite by half, I reckon, and B) it’s a not unheard-of occurrence anyway when it comes to the by-now-venerable Happy Happy Birthday To Me label so let’s say we skip that ‘skip’ business and turn our attention toward this splendid, self-titled debut from Richmond VA’s The Melody Chamber, the core duo of which is comprised of Wallace Dietz and Dan-O Deckelman, a pair whose pop panache is so readily sharp and well-honed one cannot but marvel in that ‘Wait. This is a debut?!!’ kind of way.

As if to prove that momentary WTF? incredulity post-haste, opening track “Memories of Fall” slots the LP immediately into ‘instant classic’ territory and in so doing sets a bit of a template here, one innately shaped in such a way that suggests words and phrases such as ‘effortless,’ ‘naturalistically poptastic’ and whatever other et ceteras you wish to attach. It’s a track (sorry in advance) that following song “This Train” promptly, without fanfare or pomp, finds itself gliding down as if it’s some sort of über-melodic fait accompli or something but, whatever overworked wordage one might apply, just know it’s what one might call a ‘gentle corker of a tune’ which in turn barely begins to describe what’s next-up in the form of “The Boy Who Fell Into the Sun,” the album’s longest at 5+ minutes that, one, goes by too fast nonetheless and, two, brought this listener to the realization of how subtly exacting – or, if you prefer, sublimely simpatico – Deckelman’s production is here, corraling the collective talents of himself and his esteemed bandmates into a ‘beyond the sum of its parts’ triumph that too few manage at any point on their timeline let alone their bloody debut (and, yes, time for a quick rundown personnel-wise: Dietz vocals acoustic guitar and lyrics; Deckelman guitars vocals synth; Blee Child drums; Randy Mendocino bass with guest support from George Laks – synth on “The Boy…” and Jessica Pooly – backing vox).

It’s a holistic dynamic that continues unabated throughout, from the next-up “She’s Painting Zebras,” sporting as it does what just may be the smoothest choppy rhythm in the history of pop, to “One Plus One” (or “1+1,” as it shows on the vid) with its effortless sylvan glint, to the breathy samba-like “Starlight Kisses” that closes this affair with a memorable jaunt into the sunset (and, indeed, we’re leaving several gems unveiled for the sake of your own discovery and you can thank us later after you’ve bought the thing because by this point how the hell can you not?) and that’s just a mere handful of examples from an album that defines by example that lovely old ’embarrassment of riches’ trope.

So, final thought: there’s a lot of melodic fair floating about in the indiesphere these days and much of it – even most, maybe – deserves at least a nod if not a quick listen from the midsts of our ever-avid curiosity but precious few – that we’ve encountered, anyway – convince with the unforced immediacy of this none-more-promising debut. Grab it.