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Joining the pantheon of spousal music acts is California's Avoidance Theory, comprised of marrieds Bryan and Linda (no last names given), and leaning toward the slow, quiet end of the spectrum like their married peers in Coastal and Low. Recording themselves at home, they blend an impressive array of sounds into atmospheric, low-fi, slightly skewed pop songs that combine elements of bedroom folk, slowcore, laptop electronica, and twee pop, while managing to avoid any the cliches associated with those styles. (They don't sound a lot like East River Pipe, but they are spiritual cousins in that way.) There are experimental touches and sounds all over the place, but nothing that sounds gratuitous, false, or out of place. Despite the wide range of sounds, it's a remarkably cohesive whole, with the duo's sophisticated songwriting sensibility and whispery vocals gently tying it all together. They show remarkable instincts for a first album. Befitting the arboreal lyrical motif running through the album, the whole effect is intimate and inviting, yet slightly spooky, like a cabin in the forest. This is a fresh, original, and arrestingly good disc. (mike.03.05)
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