Army Navy - The Wilderness Inside (2014)

Los Angeles trio Army Navy's third full-length album, 2014's The Wilderness Inside, is a nuanced, lyrical work informed by the group's longstanding love of '70s power pop, folk, and country. Showcasing the talents of lead singer/guitarist Justin Kennedy, along with guitarist/vocalist Louie Schultz and drummer/vocalist Douglas Randall, the album follows up the group's equally melodic 2011 sophomore effort, The Last Place. As with that album, here Army Navy and longtime producer/engineer Adam Lasus (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Dawn Landes, Ben Harper) strike a balance between bittersweet, often melancholic lyrics and bright, catchy pop hooks. To these ends, cuts like the jangly, languid folk-rock-infused "Birdy" and ruminative, early-'80s soft rock-influenced "Dumb Luck" bring to mind the vintage rock sound of bands like America and the Raspberries. Elsewhere, cuts including the ascendant "The Mistakes" and romantically epic "Crushed Like the Car" are blissful, guitar-based anthems that set them justifiably next to such contemporaries as Canada's Sloan, Scotland's Teenage Fanclub, and Albuquerque's the Shins. Clearly, based on the level of tangible musical touchstones on The Wilderness Inside, Army Navy have great taste in music. Thankfully, they know how to turn these influences into moving pop/rock metaphor. As they sing on the ebullient "Spinning on the Record," "Somehow I just know your songs have changed me/Your music is the air I breathe tonight/No one ever knows the words to save me/Maybe all your gibberish was right." With The Wilderness Inside, Army Navy's melodic message rings clear.