You Me & Iowa, The Adventures of You Me & Iowa

First thought: dumb, dumb, dumb name. Second thought: damn, this is good; why the hell didn’t I listen to this before now? Tangential (and mostly inconsequential) third thought: what the heck’s up with the weird-ass comic book?

Put that last part aside, though, and focus on Thought #2, because it’s the truth — goofy name and unnecessarily quirky album art aside, L.A. band You Me & Iowa’s The Adventures of You Me & Iowa is a non-stop gem of an indie-rock album. The vocals are seriously reminiscent of The Dismemberment Plan, although the feel’s a whole lot more mellow, clever, and playful, closer to artful jokers The Decemberists. The complex-yet-beautiful arrangements bring to mind The Decemberists, too, as well as a less fluids-/ghosts-obsessed Neutral Milk Hotel (especially when the horns come in).

As far as album highlights go, I honestly can’t recall the last time I heard a disc where I can’t decide which of the tracks I like best; maybe The New Pornographers’ Electric Version. There’s the fast, propulsive “The Song Entire,” with its snapping drums, frantic vocals, and addictive “okay, okay, okay” bit in the choruses. Then there’s “Goldfish,” my current top contender, which starts off atmospheric and spacey but turns into a speeding, poppy-as-hell picture of a dysfunctional family. Er, I think? (Love the “You know how fish are / singing when they’re not supposed to” bit, in particular.)

Beyond those, there’s “Tommy Hall,” which I’m guessing based on no evidence but the name is named for the 13th Floor Elevators songwriter/jug player, and which sounds for all the world like late-period, poppier Supercunk (think “Pink Clouds” or “Hello Hawk”), or opener “Dress The Stage,” which is low-key, bubbling, and baroque indie-pop all at the same time. The oddly crunchy-sounding keys/electronics at the start of “Margaret Mourning” are a bit off-putting at first, admittedly, but once you get past it and into the shiny, prog-ish, almost Braid-like guitars, the intro doesn’t matter. “Valhalla” is gentle and bumping, again like the softer side of Superchunk, and “Perpendicularly Speaking” features an awesomely majestic chorus, with guitars that seem to erupt into fountains of sparks like gigantic roman candles pointed at the sky.

In fact, the only track on here that’s somewhat “eh,” at least for me, happens to be the band’s first single, “Make Your Home (Smell Delicious!)”. It’s a decent enough song, with almost tropical feel to it, but the noodly silliness makes me cringe somewhat — the sound is like that of an amped-up Barenaked Ladies outtake, and that’s not really my thing. It’s probably not coincidence, either, that the track also happens to be the longest on The Adventures of…; for my money, You Me & Iowa does better when the band keeps things brief.

But hey, one “eh” to seven “yeah!”s is a pretty sunny ratio, I’d say. It’s a great, great album throughout. I’ve got no idea where these five guys are headed, but once I pick up my jaw, I’ll be following right along.