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Ben Yonda, who relocated from Rochester NY to Brooklyn during the making of this album, is the creative force behind Cricket Spin. This debut from the band is 10 songs of gauzy pastoral folk-pop. The songs range from slow and pensive to lively and jangling. Yonda sets many of them in the minor key, and has a fondness for waltzes. Cello and faux piano or organ give some of the songs a chamber-pop feel. The two most uptempo songs, "Ghosts on a Summer Night" and "So So Cinema," both feature tambourine. "Late Nights Lately" is moody with tremolo guitar and fingersnap percussion. Almost everything about this album is likable, but one fairly major thing rubs me the wrong way. There's an overabundance of aching croak in Yonda's mumbly vocals that comes across less as genuine feeling and more as a persistent whining affectation, however sincere he actually is. Quit moaning and just sing, guy. (mike.06.06)
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