Aviary Jackson

Saying that Daniel Carlson is yet another fan of the late-'60s work of Brian Wilson among the many out there is a bit of an understatement -- Aviary Jackson starts off with steadily paced rhythms, piano, and understated horn parts and, perhaps inevitably, overdubbed harmony vocalizing in a light and airy mode. The album is of such a piece that this barely changes throughout, and while it's admirable enough as a tribute and focused presentation of an aesthetic -- nothing sounds unpleasant in the slightest -- it also contributes little but the feeling of having heard so much like it before, both from Wilson himself and his many devotees. At least those moments of something even slightly different -- the rolling funk break drums underpinning "Downtown Again," the feedback-heavy conclusion of "Velvet" -- are there, but ultimately they are simply too few and far between to have a real impact.