*Splash!*

*Splash!* start off their new full length Breaking the Dam sounding like anachronistic troubadours tucked in the corner of a torch-lit pub. By the end of the record they sound like hipsters strutting with their collars turned against the wind churning through a gridded city. It’s a scope made more shocking by how gently they transition from one extreme to another – Breaking the Dam does an impressive job of building a throughline between styles, all they while ensuring each song stands alone, both carefully constructed and exquisitely performed.

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From the folksy strumming to the militant snare rolls to the somber tenor melodies and harmonies, opener “Under the Rose” introduces a Tolkeinesque tint to their sound. Some of these tunes wouldn’t feel out of place if played on a lute by a bard of olde (“Orphyc Hymn (to Mnemosyne)”), while others have an upstart quality that punctures the borders of genre (“Well Runs Dry.”) Softer moments of psych rock find their way, with the intro to “Here Comes the Flood” cribbing ever so slightly from Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here." But latter half of the record foregrounds structures and melodies of traditional Americana and pop, and these are the elements that leave the most lasting impression. 

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The lyrics tend toward mainstream mysticism softened by authentic humility, in a similar vein to the country-adjacent koans of Kacey Musgraves. Album standout “Always Greener” could be a hit if it were grist in the Nashville mill – though corporate country might have a hard time wrapping their heads around the delightful rhythmic trickery leading into the chorus. The mystical Americana approach suits *Splash!* well, and when they push it to the fore in “God/Willing” it comes off sounding like Bruce Springsteen and the New Pornographers co-wrote a tune for The War on Drugs. Not bad. 

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Sometimes an album is so well-played and capably recorded that the instruments and mix don’t call attention to themselves. Everything happens and sounds exactly as it should from start to finish on Breaking the Dam. While that might not be the most exciting praise, it’s a testament to the talent and skill of the musicians as well as those behind the boards to have created such an ideal document of *Splash!*’s unique, intriguing, and accomplished music.