Lenola
My Invisible Name
Tappersize Records

Pow! Zap! When the second song from My Invisible Name kicks off I'm totally sold. Unsettling Down is one of those magic pop moments with an instant shine of gold that makes you dance in slow-motion with a happy grin on your face. This album is Lenola's 3rd long player in their 5 years of existence.

Lenola was started by vocalist, guitarist Jay Laughlin, who was playing around with 4-track machinery, before he was joined for a quartet by guitarist Dave Grubb, drummer Sean Byrne, and bassist Scott Colan. My Invisible Name was entirely "shot" on 8-track equipment, and presents a variety of indie-psyche guitar-pop-rock. Imagine My Bloody Valentine (or Ride) guitars mixed with the popability of the Boo Radleys. Or the forcefulness of Yo La Tengo, spiced with the multi-imaginary flavors of the Elephant 6 community. The album opens with the slow Jet Row, before the brilliantly catchy (those guitar lines...) Unsettling Down fills the room. Who Made Me Bleed Like This? is another high flying pop plane escorted by wide stretched multi-layers of guitars. Round Sunday could've been something related to Pavement, but maybe more to Olivia Tremor Control, Apples In Stereo, or the Gerbils. Frukus presents Lenola from a more up-tempo and aggressive side, while most parts on My Invisible Name are quite pleasant and gentle.

"12 songs, 49 minutes", the cover says. A bit too much maybe, because the album isn't "pure gold" all the way. However, there are enough beautiful moments to state this record to be close to excellent, with music that's highly visible. As a contrast to the massive destruction of "Enola Gay", "Lenola Gay" is a friendly bomber, a friendloverplane as the Blue Aeroplanes would have put it.

Copyright © 1999 Håvard Oppøyen