Freak Owls was created, in the spring of 2009, and is essentially a one man project of Brooklyn's Josh Ricchio. Taxidermy builds on nine home made demos with the help from a bunch of mates and the recording skills of Eric Sanderson from Pela, one of several Indie bands Ricchio has played with over the past 12 years.
The album is a deliberate attempt to create a chilled alternative to earnest guitar rock and has a resolutely summery feel. These are songs he accurately calls "catchiness incarnate".
Drawing on inspiration from favourite artists like Iron & Wine and Gnarls Barkley, he has created a mood of intimacy coupled with a sun-drenched sense of optimism. If there are clouds on the horizon he focuses only the silver linings.
He even manages to squeeze a hopeful message from Nick Drake's A Place To Be despite the fact that this features tortured lyrics like "I feel weaker than the palest sun".
The clap-along simplicity of the other songs give them a childlike quality which can't help but sounding a little twee at times. Take for example these lines from the opening track Little Things:
"I'll be your caterpillar, I'll be your butterfly . I'll be whatever you want me to be".
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Ricchio just about gets away with this by virtue of the fact his resolution to accentuate the positive never seem born of naivety. Instead, he savours those sweet moments when you are quietly passing time with no particular place to go and have no desire to fret about deadlines.
On Paper People he sings of being happy to jot down words in the hope that one day they will inspire. On Optimistic Automatic he imagines himself on the moon with no air to breathe but even that does not bring him down. He even sounds cheerful when posing anxious questions like "What will it take to love me the way you did before?"(Belles)
Arthur Lee's The Good Humor Man Sees Everything Like This is a song he should consider covering if he ever gets around to a sequel.
All in all Taxidermy is a charming and uplifting way to spend half an hour and may even encourage you to put pessimism on hold and believe that even in the most desolate and broken cities there are shafts of light.
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