AMG Review of Heartstrings

Bradley Torreano
All Music Guide

Heartstrings is the second release from Dallas' own My Spacecoaster. The band is very mellow this time around, mostly sounding like a cross between Toad the Wet Sprocket and Codeine. Their slow compositions float along with simplistic lyrics that reveal a wide-eyed innocence (especially on "Hamburgers." This is pretty entertaining on the first track or two, but after that it seems like the band is simply tired. The album's sparse arrangements do not have enough to hold the listener's interest for long. Then, suddenly in the middle of the album, it seems as though the band wakes up and turns into Jawbox for the pounding "Glass" and "Kissing." These songs show the most promise of anything featured here, but after that moment it seems as though the band begins to fall back asleep, only getting energy again for the driving "13 and Growing." There is some fine music on the album, but the band needs to either cut away some of the duller songs or change up the arrangements more. Either way, this is a pretty average album from a band that is capable of more.