The Format
Dog Problems

Lean in close and I'll whisper one of the best-kept indie-pop secrets of 2006: quietly, quietly "The Format" have released one of the best records of the year!

With several EPs under their belt and another decent album ("Interventions + Lullabies" from 2003), this "duo expanded with other elements" founded by Nate Ruess and Sam Means from Arizona proves that it's still possible to make varied, passionate music, superbly played and even better arranged without falling into self-referentiality and indie posing. It also proves that it’s possible to open an album with 5 tracks, each better than the last! Accordion and flute on a sweet circus melody ("Matches") introduce us to a solid fifty minutes of heartfelt music that talks or should talk about relationships ending before they begin, with tracks that manage to give us more than a few "hand claps saying yeah." What immediately strikes is the caliber of the group, demonstrating how to construct a song with all sorts of elements, yet keeping it perfectly accessible, amazing us at every turn.

How can one resist "I'm Actual", which starts off melancholic and becomes a circus frenzy to dance to with your lovely partner? There’s so much going on it makes you want to do a track-by-track just to do justice to these compositions. Therefore, add to the "essential" list tracks like "Time Bomb", "She Doesn't Get It", "Pick Me Up" which have in common that they will give you quite a shake being ultra danceable, with 80s dance wave references that always fit nicely. In particular, "She Doesn't Get It" can pride itself with the title of "perfect single": very upbeat tempo, guitar arpeggio in the opening, melody crescendos, a chorus to sing at the top of your lungs, a bridge with bells that's even better than the chorus, and you can't keep still! And then the unexpected happens… "ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Broadway!" "Dog Problems" is pure musical, with the cadence and brass keeping the melody afloat. You’d expect Liza Minelli to walk in at any moment. If you're turning up your nose, know that in this very track they manage to insert an orchestral part, supported by strings, so melancholic it resembles a sky clearing after a storm. Magnificent!

Then the album loses a bit of its edge, presenting tracks that are all in all normal compared to what we've heard so far, but still above average, pieces suitable for college radio, so to speak. It picks back up with "The Compromise", which is essentially an old-school rock'n'roll, but played with a modern flair. Also lovely is "Inches And Falling", reminiscent of the early Queen records, opening with a proclamation that's a whole program in itself: "I love love / I love to be in love / I don't care what it does to me". The album closes with "If Work Permits", which seems like a classic ballad but then, quite unexpectedly, explodes into a punk track: evidently, there are those who love not to miss out on anything.

Let's sum it up: out of 12 tracks, we have 5 spectacular ones, 3 good ones, and 4 average ones. The point is that the good tracks are so good they banish the specter of a missed opportunity, annihilating the so-so ones. If it were an EP, it would be fabulous, but as an album, it's worth a solid 4, with some nice 7s (the 5 seems too tight) appended to the aforementioned tracks.