Lost in Revelry

AMG Review of Lost in Revelry

Tim Sendra
All Music Guide

The Mendoza Line's previous record, We're All in This Alone, was a great leap forward for the band. They put all the various elements of their sound together and came up with a stunning record. In case you just discovered the band, those elements are emotional and intelligent songwriting from both a male and female perspective, heartfelt and raw vocals, and spirited performances with indie rock and back-porch country influences. Lost in Revelry is more of the same and then some. The Mendoza Line sound confident and assured. The cracked voices of the boys are more so and the girls' voices have gotten more tuneful. The songs are more emotional and confessional. The playing is refined and imaginative with lots of great guitar work: pedal steel, slide, electric, and acoustic. Lost in Revelry's overall feel is that of a more mature group: a group who has loved and lost and experienced life. The ratio of allads to up-tempo tracks has grown, and most of the allads are excellent, with the best being "Triple Bill of Shame," a desperate plea with some forlorn-sounding slide guitar and singer Timothy Bracy sounding like he's about to pass out from the effort of singing. Shannon McArdle's songs are more passionate and weighty this time around: "Red Metal Doors" is a sad and beautiful lament taken at a glacial pace and "The Way of the Weak" is a piano allad that wouldn't sound out of place on a Mazzy Star record. The downside to a more refined and mature record is that some of their ramshackle charm and energy has been lost. Not enough to make the band bland, but if they take one more step toward professionalism the next record may turn out that way. As it is, Lost in Revelry is an adult record full of real emotion and great songs.